How would you feel if you have to pay nearly double the fare for the passenger train you have been taking every day for commute? The Indian Railways has quietly transitioned the passenger trains to ‘express specials’ and increased the ticket price on some routes, according to reports.
The move will bolster the Railways financially, but it will be a huge burden to the economically disadvantaged commuters such as small vendors, daily wage labourers, farmers who depend on the “affordable” fares of the trains for transportation.
What’s the new Fare?
The cost of travelling from Chennai to Tirupati in a passenger train or Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) has been increased to Rs 70 from the earlier Rs 35 pre-Covid. The cost of a ticket from Chennai beach to Vellore and Chennai Egmore to Puducherry has been increased to Rs 65 and Rs 80 from the earlier Rs 30 and Rs 45, respectively.
In specific divisions such as Chennai, passenger trains have been replaced with Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) while Tiruchi and Madurai divisions have been replaced with DEMU.
Some of the passengers have complained about not knowing the hiked fares, which has caused chaos at booking kiosks, with old fare structures still being displayed. Some have questioned the change in ticket prices and stressed no improvement in the quality of service or speed of the trains.
Following the complaints, the South Western Railway restored the pre-Covid fare structure in its zone. As per the order issued on February 22, the Principal Chief Commercial Manager instructed authorities in Hubballi, Bengaluru and Mysuru that all MEMU/DEMU and passenger trains stopping at all stations, en route from originating point to destination, should be charged with second class ordinary passenger fare as it was done during the pre-COVID period with immediate effect, the sources said as quoted by The Hindu.
How Indian Railways Has Benefited
The Indian Railways has seen the financial upside, with the Southern Railway reported its highest-ever revenue of Rs 6,345 crore in the passenger segment last year, which is an 80% growth compared to the previous year.
A Railway official, quoted by The Hindu, however, said there has been “no formal announcement yet” that the passenger trains are being withdrawn or re-designated as express specials with increased fares.
Previous Cases
On June 1, 2022, South Western Railway (SWR) converted eight passenger special trains into unreserved express ones. SWR has converted 20 passenger trains into express ones with premium fare since April 2021.
The railways have decided to not run passenger trains beyond 200 km.
The new unreserved express trains are 16213/16214 Arsikere-Hubballi-Arsikere, 16239/16240 Chikkamagaluru-Yeshwantpur-Chikkamagaluru, 16567/16568 Tumakuru-Shivamogga Town-Tumakuru, and 16549/16550 KSR Bengaluru-Kolar-KSR- Bengaluru.
In 2020, the Railways had decided to convert 502 passenger trains, which include routes between Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. According to railway officials, nearly 53 trains of Northern Railway were converted from passenger to express trains between Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh routes. Among all the trains of Northern Railway, nine will run from Delhi. It will also include MEMU and DEMU trains. Trains running from Delhi will operate on the Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Hisar, Shahjahanpur, Ambala and Kalka routes.
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