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Economic Times
14 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Indian Railways to hike passenger fares from July 1: Sources
ET Bureau Indian Railways Fare Hike: Check Revised Ticket Price Live Events There will be no increase in suburban fares. Monthly season ticket prices will remain unchanged. In ordinary second class, there will be no fare hike for distances up to 500 km. For distances beyond 500 km in ordinary second class, the fare will increase by half a paise per kilometer. In Mail and Express (Non-AC) trains, the fare will increase by 1 paise per kilometer. In AC classes, the fare will go up by 2 paise per kilometer. (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Indian Railways is set to increase passenger train fares for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The minor increase in fares will be effective from July 1, 2025. Sources told The Economic Times that the passenger fare for non-AC Mail/Express trains will be hiked by 1 paise per kilometre. The fare hike for AC classes will be 2 paise per there will be no increase in fare for suburban tickets and second-class travel for 500 kilometres of travel. For distances greater than 500 kilometres, the hike will be half paise per kilometre. Additionally, there will be no hike in the monthly season are the revised fares that will come into effect on July 1:Earlier this month, Indian Railways made a significant announcement requiring Aadhaar authentication for tatkal train ticket bookings starting July 1, 2025. Through a directive issued on June 10, 2025, the Railway Ministry has informed all railway zones that this new requirement is intended "to ensure that the benefits of the Tatkal Scheme are received by the common end users."The railways' official notice stated that "With effect from 01-07-2025, tickets under Tatkal scheme can be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation ( IRCTC )/ its app only by Aadhaar authenticated users."The ministry has also announced that beginning July 15, 2025, travellers will be required to complete an additional step of Aadhaar-based OTP authentication whilst booking tatkal new guidelines established limitations on Tatkal ticket reservations for authorised booking agents of Indian representatives are now barred from booking first-day Tatkal tickets within the initial half-hour window. The restriction is effective from 10.00 am to 10.30 am for AC class bookings and from 11.00 am to 11.30 am for non-AC class railway ministry has directed both the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) and IRCTC to make necessary system modifications and communicate these changes to all zonal railway divisions. This initiative seeks to streamline the Tatkal reservation process for travellers.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Indian Railways considers marginal hike in train tickets from July 1
Train travel is likely to get slightly costlier from next month, with Indian Railways considering a hike in ticket prices from July 1 onwards. According to official sources, the passenger fare for non-AC Mail and Express trains will be hiked by one paisa per kilometre. Similarly, the fare hike for air-conditioned coaches will be two paise per kilometre. However, there will be no increase in fare for suburban tickets and monthly season tickets, nor will there be any fare hike for ordinary second class tickets up to 500 kilometres. 'However, a hike is being considered for train tickets in Ordinary Second Class for a journey distance exceeding 500 km, at the rate of half a paise per km,' official sources added. 'Long overdue' According to data available with the Ministry of Railways, 715 crore passengers travelled by the Indian Railways between April 2024 to March 2025, including 81 crore passengers who travelled in AC and sleeper class, and 634 crore who were unreserved class passengers. The Indian Railways earned ₹75, 750 crore from passenger revenue in the financial year 2024-25. This planned hike in train tickets comes after five years of unchanged fares. M. Jamshed, Former Member (Traffic), Railway Board said that a fare hike of one to two paise per km per passenger was a rationalisation that was long overdue. 'This hike shall contribute to an additional ₹1,500 crore to ₹1,600 crore in passenger revenues. Similar fare hikes took place in 2013, 2014, and in 2020,' Mr. Jamshed told The Hindu. Financial sustainability concerns He added that, even with a fare hike, the financial sustainability of the Indian Railways remains a challenge. 'FY2024-25 has closed with total earnings below the budgetary estimates. Passenger revenue did increase to ₹75,457 crore but still remained below the Budgetary Estimates of ₹80,000 crore. With freight incremental loading of 26 million tons — that is, from 1,591 to 1,617 million tons — the revenue generation was marginal,' Mr. Jamshed said. 'Stiffer targets for FY2025-26 of ₹92,000 crore for passenger revenue are unlikely to be achieved.' 'Aggressive marketing of freight services and a fare hike to reach a level of break even in next five years could be the survival strategy for Indian Railways,' Mr. Jamshed added. A former railway official said that, from an individual passenger's perspective, the hike appears nominal. 'For instance, 2AC fare from Delhi to Mumbai on Mumbai-Central Tejas Rajdhani, which is currently ₹4,245, will increase by around ₹27. With increase in hike, there should also be a focus on improvement of services, like focus on clean toilets and quality meals,' the official added.
