Low-occupancy sectors: Indian Railways to offer up to 25% fare cut in AC chair car, executive class

The policy is expected to benefit marquee trains like Shatabdis, Vande Bharats and others where the Railways is facing competition from buses for short distance travel.

For instance, the recently launched Indore-Bhopal Vande Bharat faces competition from luxury buses whose operators are quick to calibrate their fares as per the demand, officials said. The new policy empowers the local rail administration to compete in terms of fare if its occupancy remains less than 50 per cent for a month.

The discount is applicable only on the base fare, while other charges like reservation charge, Superfast surcharge, GST etc, as applicable, will be levied separately. “The fares of competitive modes of transport shall be the criteria while deciding the quantum of discount,” says the order.

The zones can decide for how long the discounted fares should be offered. They will carry out periodic reviews, based on which the discounts can be withdrawn.

The discounted fare can also be offered on specific legs of the journey. For instance, if the Ajmer-Delhi Cantonment Vande Bharat has less than 50 per cent occupancy between Ajmer and Jaipur, the discount can be offered only for that leg of the journey.

The discount can also be offered for end-to-end journeys, as the case may be. If all other criteria are fulfilled, the discount may also be allowed onboard by the TTE.

The discount will be with immediate effect, which means that those who have already booked tickets at higher fares will not get any refund. Tatkal quota will not be available for sectors where this discount is applied, says the order.

For trains which have flexi-fare scheme, this discount will be applicable only after it is seen that there is no improvement in occupancy.

This is a return of the scheme after 2019, when discount of up to 25 per cent was allowed on similar terms. The difference is that in the old policy, the zones were allowed to consider trains whose occupancy over the previous year was less than 50 per cent, instead of the previous 30 days as is the case this time. Also, the old policy allowed the discount on “vacant seats”. The 2019 scheme was discontinued during the pandemic.