The Indian Railways is “already offering” 55 per cent concession on train fares to every train passengers, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The minister remarks were made amid demands to restore pre-COVID-19 train fare concessions for senior citizens and media persons.
“The Indian Railway is already offering 55 per cent concession on train fares to every train passenger,” Vaishnaw said, without giving any direct reply on the restoration of concessions.
He further said, “If a train ticket to a destination costs Rs 100, Railway is charging only Rs 45. It is giving Rs 55 concession.”
The questions were asked by the minister when he was in Ahmedabad to review the progress of the ongoing bullet train project among other things.
Train fare concessions
Before COVID-19 induced lockdown were imposed in March 2020, the Indian Railways offered 50 per cent concession on train fares to senior citizens and government-accredited journalists.
Train services across India were completely shut down during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, when it resumed full-fledged in June 2022, the Railway Ministry didn’t restore these concessions and since then the issue has been raised on various platforms, including in both the houses of parliament.
Vaishnaw maintained a similar stand in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on various occasions when questioned by many fellow parliamentarians.
Earlier, responding to an RTI application filed by Madhya Pradesh-based Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the Indian Railways said it earned about Rs 2,242 crore from approximately 15 crore senior citizens in the financial year 2022-23.
With inputs from PTI
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For each passenger train ticket, Indian Railways is offering 55% concession: Ashwini Vaishnaw
