Image is for representational purposes only. | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Ministry of Railways on Thursday (December 25, 2025) officially announced an increase in train ticket fares by 1 paise per km for regular class above a distance of 215 km and by 2 paise per km for non-AC mail/express classes and AC classes of all trains.
On December 21, the ministry announced its decision to increase passenger fares from December 26.
This is the second time in a year that the ministry has revised passenger train fares. The previous fare increase was implemented in July.
In justifying its decision, the ministry said the rationalization of fares is “aimed at balancing affordability for passengers and sustainability of operations”.
“Under the revised fare structure, there is no change in the fares of suburban services and time tickets, including suburban and non-suburban routes. For non-AC (non-suburban) regular services, fares have been rationalized in a graduated manner across second ordinary class, ordinary sleeper class and first ordinary class,” the ministry said in a statement.
He added, “In second ordinary class, there is no increase in fare for journeys up to 215 km, ensuring that short-distance commuters and daily commuters are not affected. For distances between 216 km and 750 km, the fare is increased by ₹5. For longer journeys, the increase is applied in increments — ₹10 per km for distances between 15.5 s 175 1251 km and 1750 km and ₹20 for distances between 1,751 km and 2,250 km.” According to the ministry, sleeper class ordinary and first class ordinary class fares of 1 paise per kilometer for non-city journeys have been uniformly revised, ensuring a gradual and limited increase in fares.
He said that in mail/fast trains, the fare hike has been rationalized to 2 paise per kilometer in non-AC and AC classes.
“This includes sleeper class, first class, AC coach, AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier and AC first class. To illustrate, for a 500 km journey in non-AC mail/express coaches, passengers will pay only about Rs 10 extra,” the statement said.
An official notification stated that the existing base fares of major train services including Tejas Rajdhani, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Tejas, Mahamana, Gatimaan, Antyodaya, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, Namo Bharat Non-Mec DEMU, where applicable, Rapid-MEsub-DEMU, and regular services have been revised in line with the approved increase in base classes fare.
“The revised fares are only applicable for tickets booked on or after December 26, 2025. No additional charges will apply to tickets booked before this date, even if the journey is made after the effective date,” he added.
The price list displayed at stations will also be updated to reflect the new tariffs effective from 26 December.
The ministry maintained that Indian Railways remains committed to providing safe, reliable and affordable travel to millions of passengers every day.
The revised fare structure reflects a balanced approach that ensures passenger comfort while maintaining operational sustainability, he said.
Published – 25 Dec 2025 21:28 IST
