Indian Railways will implement a marginal increase in passenger train fares starting July 1. The fare adjustment will apply primarily to long-distance travel on mail and express trains, both non-AC and AC classes, according to reports.
A senior railway official said that non-AC mail and express train fares will go up by 1 paisa per kilometre, while AC class tickets will see a 2 paisa per kilometre increase. This change will affect nearly 13,000 daily services across the country.
Despite latest revision will have minimal impact on passengers’ overall travel costs. In a relief for daily commuters, fares for suburban trains and Monthly Season Tickets (MSTs) will remain unchanged. The regular commuters and short-distance travellers will not be burdened by the fare adjustments.
Moreover, passengers travelling up to 500 kilometres in ordinary second class will also be exempt from any fare increase. For journeys exceeding 500 km in general second class, the hike will be a nominal 0.5 paisa per kilometre. For instance, a 600 km trip would cost just 50 paise more.