NEW DELHI: Railways on Thursday announced a “rationalisation” of fares for passengers, effective for tickets booked on or after December 26. It aims to balance passenger affordability with the sustainability of railway operations.According to the Ministry of Railways press release, there will be no fare increase for suburban services and season tickets, covering both suburban and non-suburban routes. Additionally, Second Class Ordinary journeys up to 215 km will see no increase, ensuring that short-distance travellers and daily commuters remain unaffected.For Ordinary Non-AC (Non-Suburban) services, fares have been revised in a graded manner. In Second Class Ordinary, fares will rise by Rs 5 for distances between 216 km and 750 km, Rs 10 for 751–1,250 km, Rs 15 for 1,251–1,750 km, and Rs 20 for 1,751–2,250 km. Sleeper Class Ordinary and First Class Ordinary fares will increase uniformly at 1 paise per kilometre for non-suburban journeys.In Mail/Express trains, the fare increase has been limited to 2 paise per kilometre across both Non-AC and AC classes, including Sleeper, First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier/3E, AC 2-Tier, and AC First Class. The Railways said this translates into a modest increase—for example, about Rs 10 extra for a 500 km non-AC Mail/Express journey.The revised basic fares will also apply to premium and special services such as Tejas Rajdhani, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Tejas, Mahamana, Gatimaan, Antyodaya, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, and Ordinary non-suburban services (excluding AC MEMU/DEMU, where applicable), as well as Anubhuti and AC Vistadome coaches.The ministry added a clarification that there is no change in “reservation fees, superfast surcharges, or other ancillary charges”. GST applicability and fare rounding rules also remain unchanged.Tickets booked before December 26 will not attract the revised fares, even if the journey is scheduled after the effective date. However, tickets issued by TTEs or booking staff on or after December 26 will be charged at the revised rates. Fare charts will not show any fare difference for pre-revised tickets.The updated fare list will be displayed at stations from December 26, and necessary changes will be implemented across ticketing systems, including PRS and UTS. The Ministry said zonal railways have been instructed to ensure wide publicity and proper implementation following concurrence from the Finance Directorate.
