Passengers of Indian Railways have enjoyed an incomparable train travel experience using digital facilities like online ticket booking, checking of PNR status, train schedule and much more. Moreover, the introduction of e-catering in train has made the passengers easy to order food online in train for a journey, thus shedding the load of carrying extra baggage of food. With numerous facilities available online and offline, the Indian Railways have made it easy for the travelers even to plan a last-minute journey. However, when it comes to Indian Railways ticket prices, there has been a hike in the ticket fares in the New Year 2020. Effective from January 1st 2020, there’s a hike in the ticket prices of railways which is a marginal increase.
The maximum is 4 paise per kilometre for the AC class of rail travel (AC Chair Car, AC 3-tier/3E, AC 2-tier, AC First Class/EC/EA). The increase in fare per kilometre is 1 paisa for Ordinary non-suburban classes (Second Class Ordinary, Sleeper Class Ordinary, First Class Ordinary) and 2 paise for Mail/Express trains in non-AC class (Second Class Mail/Express, Sleeper Class Mail/Express, First Class Mail/Express). There will be no change in charges for superfast charge, reservation fee. The passenger fares for sub-urban trains have not been increased. The revised chart of the fare will be displayed on the stations by Jan 1st 2020. However, GST will be levied as usual.
Will the Fare of Premium Trains Increase?
The fare of premium trains will be revised accordingly depending on the class of travel. However, for this purpose the below-mentioned trains are considered as premium trains:
- Vande Bharat
- Humsafar Express
- Rajdhani Express
- Duronto
- Shatabdi Express
- Mahamana
- Antyodaya Express
- Garib Rath
- Rajya Rani
- Jan Shatabdi
- Suvidha
- Yuva
Why Fare revision is done by the Railways?
Fast modernization of Indian Railways:
To modernize the current amenities and passenger facilities, Railways in a statement has said that “In order to expand passenger amenities and facilities at various railway stations and trains, it has become imperative to increase the fare marginally without overburdening any class of passengers”.
Good News for Daily Commuters:
Keeping the affordability concerns of daily commuters, there will be no hike in the fare for passengers over suburban sections and season ticket holders. 66% of the total passenger segment of Indian Railways constitutes to this group. It’s a relief for the daily passengers. However, pre-booked tickets will not be charged with any fares extra from the old ticket price.