In a move to improve occupancy, fares of seats on AC chair cars and executive classes of all trains, including Vande Bharat, will be reduced by up to 25 per cent, a Railway Board order said on Saturday. The fare cut will have immediate effect.
“Trains having classes with occupancy of less than 50 per cent (either end to end or in some specified legs/sections) during the last 30 days shall be taken into consideration,” the order said.
The fares of competitive modes of transport will be the criteria while deciding the quantum of discount, it added. The discount can be given for the first and/or last leg of the journey and/or intermediate sections and/or end-to-end journey provided the occupancy is less than 50 per cent in that leg/section/end-to-end.
Data showed that the occupancy rate of the recently launched Vande Bharat Express trains on four new routes such as Indore-Bhopal, Jabalpur-Bhopal, and Madgaon-Mumbai is a very low at 21-55 per cent.
The board has decided to delegate powers to principal chief commercial managers of railway zones to introduce discounted fare schemes in trains with AC seating.
“This scheme shall be applicable in AC chair cars and executive classes of all trains having AC seating accommodation, including Anubhuti and Vistadome coaches,” the Railway Board order stated. The provision of this scheme shall be applicable up to a period of one year.
While Anubhuti Coach is a luxury coach designed to provide passengers with a first-class travel experience focused on comfort and convenience, the Vistadome coaches offer 360-degree views of the train journey.
“The element of discount shall be up to a maximum 25 per cent on the basic fare. Other charges like reservation charges, super fast surcharge, and GST, as applicable, shall be levied separately. The discount may be provided in any or all the classes on the basis of occupancy,” it said.
As a result, even if the fare is reduced by 25 per cent, the actual reduction will be less.
Reservation charges range from Rs 15 for the second class to Rs 60 for First AC, while the super-fast charge ranges from Rs 15 to Rs 70. GST is 5 per cent for AC classes. There is an additional catering charge for trains where the food price is included in the ticket such as for the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and some Duronto trains.
In case of those trains where flexi fare scheme is applicable in a particular class and the occupancy is poor, flexi fare scheme may be withdrawn initially as a measure to increase the occupancy, the railways said. In case this does not result in improved occupancy, only then discount scheme may be offered.
This scheme will not be applicable on special trains.
Tickets for VIPs such as MLAs and ex-MLAs, MPs and ex-MPs and freedom fighters will be booked on original class-wise fare and not on discounted fare. The Tatkal quota shall not be earmarked in such trains for the decided period in case the discount is provided on an end-to-end basis.
