According to data available with the Ministry of Railways, 715 passengers traveled between Indian railways from April 2024 to March 2025 | Photo Credit: Hind
Training of trains will probably be a bit more expensive from the next month, with Indian railways considering an increase in ticket prices from 1 July.
According to official sources, passengers will raise one Paisa per kilometer for NEAC Mail and Express Trains. Similarly, the trip to the fare for air -conditioned coaches will be two Pais a kilometer.
However, no fares will increase for suburban tickets and monthly seasonal tickets, nor will there be any prices for regular tickets to second class up to 500 kilometers. “For train tickets in the normal second grade, however, a trip to a distance that exceeds 500 km, half of Pais per km,” added the official sources.
“Long delayed”
According to data available with the Ministry of Railways, 715 passengers traveled between Indian railways from April 2024 to March 2025, including 81 crore passengers who traveled in AC and Sleeper, and 634 Crore, who were unfurnished passengers in the classroom. Indian railways earned 75 GBP, 750 crore from passenger income in the financial year 2024-25.
This planned hike in the train tickets comes after five years of unchanged tariffs. M. Jamshed, a former member (operation), the Railway Council said that a trip of one to two pais per km for passengers was a rationalization that has long been delayed. “This increase will contribute to another £ 1,500 for 1,600 GBP Crore in passenger income. Similar tourist hikes took place in 2013, 2014 and 2020,” said Mr. Jamshed Hindu.
Concerns about financial sustainability
He added that even when the fare increased, the financial sustainability of Indian railways remains a challenge. “The FY2024-25 has closed with total earnings under budget estimates. Passenger incomes increased to 75,457 Crore, but remained under the budget estimates of 80,000 crore, with an additional load by 26 million tonnes. “It is unlikely that a stiffer target for FY2025-26 out of 92,000 GBP crore for passengers’s income would be achieved.”
“Aggressive marketing of freight services and increasing the fare to reach the level of the break even in the next five years could be a survival strategy for Indian railways,” added Mr. Jamshed.
The former railway clerk said that from the perspective of an individual passenger, the increase seems to be nominal. “For example, 2AC fares from Delhi to Bombai on the Bombai Central Tejas Rajdhani, which is currently 4,245 GBP, will increase by approximately 27 ₹. As an increase in hike, it should also focus on improving services such as pure toilets and quality meals.”
Published – June 24, 2025 21:33
