&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Train travel to get costlier as Railways hikes fares. Check new fare structure")
Travelling by train for longer distances in India is going to be costlier, as the Railways has announced a fare hike that will come into effect from December 26, though the cost of travel up to 215 kilometres has not been increased. As a result, longer journeys would cost more. The fare for suburban trains has also not been raised at all. The cost of general class tickets up to a distance of 215 kilometres will not change. But distances more than 215 km would cost an additional 1 paisa per km. For non-air-conditioned coaches on mail or express trains, the hike will be 2 paise per km. The cost of travel in air-conditioned coaches has also been hiked by 2 paise per km.
The new fare hike means that a 500-kilometre journey in non-air-conditioned coaches will cost ₹10 more after the new rates take effect. The same additional cost will be borne by those travelling in AC compartments.
Railways, which is a lifeline for the majority of Indians, has said that it has expanded its network and operations significantly over the past decade and is also increasing its manpower. As a result of the new fare hike, the earnings of Railways are projected to go up by Rs 600 crore annually.
The Railways said its manpower cost has increased to Rs 1,15,000 crore and pension cost to Rs 60,000 crore, while the total cost of operations increased to Rs 2,63,000 crore in the 2024-25 financial year.
Railways has said it is focusing on increasing cargo loading besides passenger fare hike to meet its manpower cost hike.
Earlier, the Railways hiked fares in July. The fare in non-air-conditioned class in Mail and Express trains was hiked by 1 paisa per km and travel in air-conditioned classes became dearer by 2 paise per km.
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Before that, train fare was hiked on January 1, 2020.
In 2020, second-class fare for ordinary and mail/express trains increased by 1 paisa/km and 2 paise/km, respectively. Fares in sleeper classes and all AC classes went up by 2 paise/km and 4 paise/km, respectively.
