Film and television-serial makers here have edited out plans to shoot on railway premises following Indian Railways’ decision in June this year to increase fees for commercial movies steeply.

Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway, the two divisions headquartered in Kolkata, have suffered in terms of the number of movie sequences shot on trains or railway property although their income from fees has gone up.

While just one film has been shot on ER premises since June, SER has drawn a blank.

“Sequences in films and serials shot at places like rail stations and train compartments add to a railwayman’s pride,” an IR official said.

While there are no charges for tourists, rail enthusiasts and news photographers, Indian Railway has increased the fees for commercial shoots. Now, the licence fee is Rs 1 lakh for A-1 and A category cities, Rs 50,000 for B-1 and B category cities and Rs 25,000 for unclassified places. Earlier, the fee was Rs 10,000 irrespective of the city.

For shooting inside moving trains, the fee is Rs 30,000 along with hiring charges for the rolling stock. Moreover, there is comprehensive insurance coverage based on the value of the rolling stock and the number of persons participating.

While ER’s income from the license fees has increased from Rs 1.51 lakh last year to Rs 3.87 lakh this year, the number of films shot has halved. It gave permission for the shooting of 12 films last year. At SER, at least four films are shot each year on its property, but not a single has been shot after June this year. SER declined to disclose earnings.

Renowned directors like Mira Nair (for Namesake), Rituparno Ghosh (for Sunglass), Sandip Ray (for Kailashe Kelenkari) had shooting schedules on ER premises last year.

Haranath Chakraborty, a noted Bengali film director, has two of his films with sequences at railway stations. “The Eastern India Producers Association is writing to the railway ministry to re-consider the fees,” he said.

“It is too difficult for Bengali films and serials with a shoe-string budget to shell out that amount,” he said.

Anjan Das, another Bengali director, said the railway ministry should revise the charges keeping the budget of the regional films in mind.