Indian Railways Implements Fare Increase for Passengers

Fare Hike Announcement

The Indian Railways has officially announced an increase in passenger fares, marking the first adjustment since 2020. This change is expected to have a slight impact on commuters. The fare hike was anticipated following the recommendations from the Standing Committee on Railways in December 2024.

Rationale Behind the Increase

The Committee urged the Railways to adjust fare prices, particularly in AC classes, to better reflect operational costs. Current data indicates that suburban trains only recover 30% of their expenses, while non-AC travel accounts for 39%. In contrast, AC travel generates a mere 3.5% surplus.

Details of the New Fare Structure

Effective from July 1, 2025, the new fares will apply to AC class, Sleeper Class (Mail/Express), and Second Class (General). Premium services such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Vande Bharat, Duronto, and Tejas will also see fare increases. However, suburban trains and season ticket holders will not face any fare hikes.

Additionally, travelers making short journeys of up to 500 km will be exempt from the fare increase. The Railways has also confirmed that there will be no changes to reservation fees, superfast surcharges, or GST regulations.

Changes to Tatkal Booking System

In response to the current security situation along the borders, modifications have been made to the Tatkal booking process. Only passengers who have completed Aadhaar verification will be permitted to book Tatkal tickets via the IRCTC website or mobile application.

Modernization of the Reservation System

The Railways is working on modernizing the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) by the end of this year, aiming to increase booking capacity to over 150,000 tickets per minute, a significant improvement from the current rate of 32,000 tickets per minute. Although the Railways claims this fare increase is the smallest in recent years, it has nonetheless added financial strain on the middle class, who find air travel unaffordable and ordinary train travel less appealing.

With the recent uncertainty surrounding air travel in India, particularly following the June 20 Air India Boeing Dreamliner incident, many passengers have turned to train travel for safety. However, train travel in India still faces challenges, including complaints about unclean toilets, dirty linens, and unswept floors, which require urgent attention from railway authorities.

Passenger Statistics

According to reports, Indian Railways transported 715 crore passengers during the financial year from April 2024 to March 2025, generating revenue of Rs 75,750 crore during this period.