Railways reviews flexi-fare system, may slash prices

NEW DELHI: Railways has said it is reviewing the flexi-fare ticketing system introduced in elite trains — Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto and may slash the prices of the tickets.

The transporter also said there is no plan to hike the fares of other trains as well. Minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha said, "the fares of the train won't increase."

Railways has earned around Rs 540 crore in less than a year after introducing the flexi-fare system, but it was flooded with complaints from the passengers about high prices of tickets.

It has also noticed that several seats were left vacant due to high ticket prices in several trains+ .

Railway minister Piyush Goyal said, "The issue of the flexi-fare scheme has been brought to my notice by the people. It could be improved in a way that it meets the revenue target without hurting people's pocket."

Asked if there could be any amendment to the system, Goyal said, "There is possibility of some changes."

The scheme, launched on September 9 last year and applicable to premium trains such as the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto, allows 10% of the seats to be sold at normal fare and thereafter increasing it in phases by 10% with every 10% of berths sold, with a ceiling of a 50% rise.

According to the data, railways earned an additional revenue of Rs 540 crore from September 2016 to June 2017 through this scheme.

There was no change in the existing fare for 1AC and EC class.

On December 19, railways started to provide 10% rebate on any seat left vacant after the preparation of the chart.

Goyal said railways was also working to ensure efficient and faster services.

"It is proposed to increase the speed of around 700 trains with effect from November 1, 2017. This exercise will help in converting 48 mail/express trains to the superfast/express category," he said.

The minister said the railways will launch over 100 train services from Mumbai from October 1 to November 1.

To ensure transparency, all Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff and Travel Ticket Examiners (TTEs) will be in proper uniform while on duty.