Fare hike must not jolt affordable rail travel
Secondly, how can the railways justify even a minimal fare hike for general class passengers without ensuring them basic amenities? In 2024-25, of the 715 crore train passengers, a whopping 634 crore travelled on unreserved compartments. Thousands of viral videos on social media attest to their pathetic conditions of travel—severely overcrowded carriages, unusable toilets and dry water taps. Nearly all these passengers come from the bottom of the economic pyramid. The government's social service obligations should recommend holding the rate hike for this class till the conditions improve—such a hike risks marginalising crores of Indians who have no viable alternatives.
Thirdly, funding the railways' need to maintain and modernise. For this, it should revisit non-fare revenue models and make freight operations more efficient before burdening poor travellers. The pricing model for top-end services can be revised while keeping basic travel affordable. Modernising stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme should help convert them into revenue hubs through advertising and enhanced services, as well as increasing private partnerships. Curbing delays can cut costs, but track renewal in the world's fourth largest network is woefully inadequate, resulting in superfast trains chugging well below their optimum speeds. Despite this, the railways' estimated capital expenditure this fiscal remains unchanged from the last. A new-age rail system must also focus more on long-term, multilateral infrastructure financing. As for the fare policy, it must hinge on a single criterion—mass affordability.
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