Congress leader Ajoy Kumar said the railway ministry had cleverly increased fares by one or two paise per km but burdened the common public “by ₹100-200”. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Congress on Monday (Dec 22, 2025) demanded the resignation of Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, accusing the government of distracting taxpayers with irrelevant issues to slyly hike train fares at a time when the state of the national carrier has deteriorated.
The Congress said train fares have been hiked twice since June 2024, when the Narendra Modi government came to power for the third time. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Indira Bhawan, Congress leader Ajoy Kumar said that Mr. Vaishnaw had cleverly increased the fare by one paise or two paise per km, but it burdened the common public “by ₹100-200”.
He argued that railways were the “backbone of the Indian economy”, not a means of “profit generation”. Mr. Kumar called Mr. Vaishnaw a “winch minister” and not a “railway minister” and accused him of focusing on digital content rather than the core issues of the railways.
The Railway Ministry on Sunday announced an increase in fares by one payment per km for regular class journeys above 215 km and two payments per km for non-AC mail/express classes and AC classes of all trains. The new rates will come into effect from 26 December 2025. The government said the fare hike will bring in ₹600 crore to the railways by 31 March 2026.
Train fares, Mr Kumar said, have been hiked by as much as 107% in the last decade by the Modi government. He also demanded that Kavach – India’s automatic train protection (ATP) system that prevents train collisions – be immediately implemented in all trains, saying “the bullet train can wait but not safety”. Kavach is only available in 3% of trains, he pointed out.
“We urge Ashwini Vaishnaw to resign as the condition of railways has deteriorated under him and because of his style of functioning. He should listen to his inner conscience,” Kumar said. “Reel minister” Ashwini Vaishnaw should resign, he reiterated. The Congress leader alleged that the CAG report said that food served in trains was not fit for human consumption.
Published – 22 Dec 2025 21:24 IST
