New Delhi, March 11: Indian Railways provided a subsidy of ₹60,239 crore on passenger tickets in 2024-25, amounting to an average concession of 43% for all travelers. In other words, if the cost of providing the service is ₹100, the ticket price is only ₹57, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Parliament on Wednesday.
This subsidy continues for all passengers. Furthermore, concessions beyond this amount continue for several categories, including four categories of persons with disabilities (Divyangjans), 11 categories of patients, and 8 categories of students, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The minister stated that the Railways does not consider ticket fares as a "trade secret." Information related to fares for all categories of passenger services is widely available in the public domain.
To ensure maximum transparency, details of various components of passenger fares (base fare, reservation charge, superfast charge, GST, etc.) are displayed on passenger tickets, published as fare tables in both physical and digital formats, which are displayed on computerized ticketing systems (Passenger Reservation System, Unreserved Ticketing System) and mobile applications (RailOne), he said.
Furthermore, information related to any changes in the passenger fare rationalization, revisions, etc., undertaken from time to time, is also widely published. Indian Railways, as a public-owned enterprise, is fully accountable to the people and to the Parliament for delivering services in a financially sustainable manner. Passenger fares are determined taking into consideration the cost of service, competition from other modes of transportation, and affordability, the minister pointed out.
The minister also stated that the fare structure for the Vande Bharat Sleeper train is based on a per-passenger-per-kilometer rate, with the 3rd Air-conditioned Class (3AC) costing ₹2.40 per kilometer, excluding GST. The indicative fares for a distance of 1,000 km, excluding GST, are ₹2,400 for 3AC.
Vande Bharat Sleeper is a different category of passenger service with a comprehensive fare, and this train does not have provisions for RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) tickets. Passengers on the waiting list receive confirmation when confirmed passengers cancel their tickets. This ensures that services are accessible to passengers.
Vaishnaw said that the Indian Railways continuously strives to provide various facilities for the convenience of passengers, including senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwDs). Some of the facilities extended to senior citizens and PwDs include allocating lower berths to PwDs, senior citizens, and female passengers aged 45 and above, subject to availability. In addition, earmarking a combined quota of six to seven lower berths per coach in Sleeper class, four to five lower berths per coach in Air Conditioned 3 tier (3AC) and three to four lower berths per coach in Air Conditioned 2 tier (2AC) classes (depending on the number of coaches of that class in the train) for senior citizens, female passengers 45 years of age and above, and pregnant women.