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Rail fare hike from July 1; AC and sleeper classes to cost more
According to the circular, there will be no hike in fares for trains on the suburban rail network. Moreover, monthly season tickets will continue to cost the same.
Fares for passengers travelling in second class on ordinary (non-mail or express) trains will remain unchanged for distances up to 500 kilometres. Beyond this, a hike of half a paisa per kilometre will be applicable.
Similarly, sleeper class and first and second class tickets on mail and express trains will cost 1 paisa per kilometre more.
Through these hikes, the Railways is expected to earn approximately ₹700 crore more in the current financial year and around ₹1,300 crore in a full financial year, based on passenger kilometre estimates provided in Union Budget documents.
For tickets already issued at pre-revised rates, the revised fares will not apply. The ministry said the fare difference for journeys on or after 1 July on such tickets will not be shown in the reservation chart.
This comes in response to an earlier practice where ticket collectors would charge passengers the differential fare for tickets booked prior to the effective date.
'Existing basic fare of train services like Tejas Rajdhani, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Tejas, Mahamana, Gatimaan, Antyodaya, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, ordinary services (non-suburban), Anubhuti coach and AC Vistadome coach etc. has been revised to the extent of the above proposed increase in class-wise basic fare,' the circular said.
In the Union Budget presented in February, projected revenue from the passenger segment was pegged at ₹92,800 crore, up 11 per cent from ₹82,000 crore in the revised estimates for FY25. Specifically, revenue from AC three-tier class is expected to rise to ₹37,115 crore in the current financial year, up 23 per cent from FY25 revised estimates.
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