According to the new fare system, base fares of Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duranto express trains will increase by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold, subject to a prescribed ceiling limit. But, it's not all bad news. Read why...
Representational picture
The Railways on Wednesday announced to implement the flexi fare pricing on the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duranto express trains from September 9. According to the new fare system, the base fares of these trains will increase by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold, subject to a prescribed ceiling limit.
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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the Railways' decision to adopt dynamic surge pricing as 'exploitation of passengers' and demanded it's immediate withdrawal, while Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said it is an 'anti-people' move. Left parties today asked government to rollback the "anti-people" hike in fares of premier trains like Rajdhani, Shatadbi and Duronto, contending the decision has been taken at a time when people are already suffering from high inflation and low wages.
Senior officials of the Railway Ministry have said they are doing this on an "experimental basis", after political parties criticised the hike and demanded its roll back. The officers added the flexi pricing move was based on the travel experience of passengers on select trains that are highly patronised.
But, not all is against the move, some experts even claim it could have it's benefits...
>> The decision could work wonders for India's growing aviation sector. Air India recently announced that it will not increase its last minute fares, or tickets booked four hours before take-off, that are being sold at par with AC II Rajdhani train fares. Hence, an Air India ticket, let's say, from Delhi to Bangalore four hours before departure would cost Rs 1,530 less than the second AC railway ticket.
>> The final fares will increase by 10 percent with every 10 percent of berths sold, which means that except those who book early, others will have to pay a premium to the floor price of the ticket. This, many experts agree is more along the lines of a steep fare hike.
>> Since there are no actual changes in fares in the unreserved segment used by the majority of the common man, fare changes are brought in across the 2AC, 3AC, chair and sleeper segments, which are only 42 Rajdhani trains, 46 Shatabdi and 54 Duronto trains as of now, and constitute only a small portion of the 2.3 crore passengers using the railways every day.
>> Railway passengers are charged 36 paise per kilometer, which is the lowest in any form of transport.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
>> Each time the railway hikes the freight rates, the cost is passed on to the end consumer or the common man, ultimately impacting him/her. Increasing the freight rates and subsidising passengers would compel firms from opting for roads and ports abandoning the rail route to cut costs ultimately affecting railway revenue badly.
>> Also, in the last Railway Budget, minister Suresh Prabhu promised to improve overall passenger experience with facilities in trains like 17,000 bio toilets, 400 train stations with Wi-Fi access among many others. As a result it should'nt seem as a problem to shell some extra cash for premium trains.
So, passengers should give this flexi fare pricing a chance to see what happens in the long run.
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