Staff Reporter / New Delhi
The Indian Railways has announced a rationalisation of its passenger fare structure, effective from Friday (Dec 26), aiming to strike a balance between passenger affordability and the financial sustainability of operations.
According to the Railways Ministry, the revised fares will apply only to tickets booked on or after the effective date. Tickets already booked will not attract any additional charges, even if the journey takes place later. Importantly, there will be no change in fares for suburban services and Season Tickets, for both suburban and non-suburban routes.
For Ordinary Non-AC (Non-Suburban) services, fares have been revised in a graded manner. In Second Class Ordinary, there will be no increase for journeys up to 215 km to protect short-distance and daily commuters. For distances between 216 km and 750 km, fares will rise by ₹5; between 751 km and 1,250 km by ₹10; between 1,251 km and 1,750 km by ₹15; and between 1,751 km and 2,250 km by ₹20.
In Sleeper Class Ordinary and First Class Ordinary, fares have been uniformly revised at the rate of one paise per kilometre for non-suburban journeys, ensuring a gradual and limited increase.
For Mail and Express trains, fares across both Non-AC and AC classes — including Sleeper, First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier and AC First Class — have been rationalised with an increase of two paise per kilometre.
The basic fares of premium services such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Tejas, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat and Tejas Rajdhani have also been revised in line with the approved class-wise increases.
The ministry clarified that there will be no change in reservation charges, superfast surcharges or other ancillary fees, which will continue as per existing rules. The applicability of GST remains unchanged, and fares will continue to be rounded off according to prevailing norms.
The Railways said the move is intended to ensure long-term sustainability of services while keeping fare increases modest and commuter-friendly.