Indian Railways passengers may soon pay less for tickets on more popular trains like the Shatabdi, Rajdhani, and Duronto Express.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday, 13 December, that railway fares are likely to go down during the off-season or when trains are not fully booked, the Hindustan Times reported.
The announcement came after the Railways board announced a review of its flexi-fare system, via a letter dated 11 December. The letter announces the formation of a six-member committee to review the Railways’ flexi-fare system.
The flexi-fare system, launched in September 2016, led to an increase in fares by as much as 50 percent, with a hike in price for every 10 percent of berths booked.
The flexi-fare system is under review. Instead of just one-way flexi-fare (where prices only increase) we can have dynamic fares. During the off-season, and when trains aren’t full, we may even be able to give tickets at concessional rates.Piyush Goyal, Railways Minister
Goyal added that the Indian Railways is trying to be more sensitive of the needs of its passengers and is modifying train timings to reflect the same.
He said that the newly launched Rajdhani Express between Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin and Mumbai, which presently leaves Delhi at 4 pm to reach Mumbai the next morning at 6 am, will be changed to leave at 5 pm and arrive at 7 am, to give passengers an extra hour on both days.
Goyal also added that they hope to attract private logistics companies to invest in refrigerated wagons to transport farm produce.
(With inputs from PTI and Hindustan Times)
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