Rail fares likely to go up?
Posted on: 30/May/2017 6:19:08 PM
Currently, no service charges are being collected for the online train ticket bookings. However, since huge annual losses of Rs. 500 Crores are borne by the Indian Railways, the Central Ministry of Railways has represented to the Central Ministry of Finance to permit collecting service charges after 30th June.
Online train ticket booking can be done on the IRCTC website. Earlier, Rs. 20 was collected as service charges for non-air-conditioned travel and Rs. 40 was collected for the air-conditioned travel.
Indian Railways continue to offer more concessions as well. For example, there is a 5% discount on using the automatic ticket vending machine. A discount of 0.5% discount while buying monthly season tickets online, Insurance cover is offered for the passengers who book the train ticket online.
When demonetization was announced during last November, actions were initiated to expand the extent of digital financial transactions. Accordingly, the service charges were cancelled for those who book train tickets online. This concession is valid up to 30th June.
Now, the Ministry of Railways, has put up the demand to permit collection of service charges again.
