CHENNAI: The Indian Railways has earned a whopping Rs 10,729 crore from tatkal booking charges in the last nine years. Railway documents accessed by Express showed that in 2011, the annual revenue from tatkal scheme was only Rs 729 crore. However, by 2019, it almost doubled, reaching Rs 1,459 crore mainly due to introduction of premium tatkal scheme and reserving more number of berths in AC coaches for tatkal in recent years.
The tatkal booking was introduced in 1997 in select trains with an objective of providing accommodation for last-minute travellers. It was extended across the country in 2004. An additional fare of 30 per cent of base fare is collected for tatkal tickets in sleeper coaches, three-tier AC, two-tier AC and AC chair car classes. The minimum additional fare is Rs 100 and maximum is Rs 500 in these classes. For second seating class, tatkal fare ranges from Rs 10 to Rs 15.
A close look at the revenue pattern revealed that the railways’ earnings increased gradually every year since 2009. However, it saw a steep rise in the financial year 2016-17. The earnings increased by 15 per cent in these years. The official sources attributed the higher earnings to increase in tatkal quota for air-conditioned classes and introduction of premium tatkal quota.
According to the Railway Board guidelines, about 30 per cent of the berths in sleeper class coaches are earmarked under tatkal quota. However, in AC classes, 15 to 20 berths are allowed for booking under tatkal quota as these classes have got limited number of coaches.
As the ticket demand continued to remain high in select stretches such as Delhi - Mumbai, Mumbai - Ahmedabad, Delhi - Howrah, Chennai - Howrah and Chennai - Tirunelveli, the railways launched premium tatkal quota system, under which 50 per cent of tatkal tickets (15 per cent of total tickets) are sold on dynamic pricing - which means ticket fares will go high as the demand increases.
The fares will increase by 20 per cent after every 10 per cent of berths are sold subject to the existing cap (maximum fare chargeable) on dynamic fare. Presently, Rs 955 is fixed as maximum premium fare for a sleeper class ticket up to 500 km.
Rail passengers want the premium tatkal scheme withdrawn, saying that it has made the train travel unaffordable for middle class passengers.
P Edward Jeni, general secretary of Kanniyakumari District Railway Users Association, said, “Instead of introducing more trains in highly congested sections, the railways extended premium tatkal quota to majority of superfast trains. Sometimes, train fares surpass the airfares during festival seasons. This quota should be withdrawn.”