To make travelling in railways affordable and fill vacant seats in less travelled trains, the Indian Railways has decided to give discounts of up to 25 per cent to passengers on ticket fares in premium trains.
The discount scheme is likely to implemented by September and shall be applicable for AC chair car and executive chair car accommodation in Shatabdi, Gatimaan, Tejas, Double Decker and Intercity train services, among others.
The move is also seen as an effort by the Railways to boost occupancy levels and generate revenue, since only trains with monthly occupancy of less than 50 per cent in the previous year are eligible for the discount. It is to be noted that Indian Railways face stiff competition from low-cost airlines and, in certain sectors, airfares are considered cheaper than railways fares.
According to officials, the train ticket discount of up to 25 per cent will be given on the base fare while other charges like reservation fee, GST, superfast charge, etc., will be levied separately.
The Railway ministry had recently decided to give the power to the Principal Commercial Managers of the zones to introduce the discounted fare scheme in the identified trains.
While it is not yet known which train services will benefit from the route, all zones of the Indian Railways have been asked to identify trains with low occupancy by September 30.
News agency PTI recently reported that fares of two Tejas Express trains which will be run by railway subsidiary Indian Railway Tourism and Catering Corporation (IRCTC) will be 50 per cent less than that of flights on same routes.
IRCTC, the railways’ tourism and catering arm, has been given the “flexibility” to fix the fares of the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express and the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Tejas Express as a test case, ahead of the Railways’ plans to rope in private players to operate certain trains.
While a memorandum of understanding between the railways and IRCTC is yet to be signed, it is expected that the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas will begin operations in October while the second one will begin a month later.