Under pressure from passengers over the hike in fares, the Railways on Friday issued an order to discontinue the ‘special’ tag for mail and express trains and to revert to pre-pandemic ticket prices with immediate effect.
Since the coronavirus-triggered lockdown was eased, the Railways has only been running special trains. It started with long-distance trains and now even short-distance passenger services are being run as special trains with “slightly higher fares” to “discourage people from avoidable travels”.
In a letter to the zonal railways on Friday, the Railway Board said trains will now be operated with their regular numbers and fares will revert to normal pre-Covid prices.
Ticket prices of special trains and holiday special trains are marginally higher.
“In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, all regular mail/express trains were being operated as MSPC (mail/express special) and HSP (holiday special). It has now been decided that the MSPC and HSP train services, included in the Working Time Table, 2021, shall be operated with regular numbers and with fares as applicable for the concerned classes of travel and type of train, as per the extant guidelines,” the order dated November 12 said.
Second order
In another order, the Railway Board clarified that the second class of such trains shall continue to run as reserved except for any relaxation permitted in a special case.
Officials, however, said curbs introduced because of Covid, such as temporary restrictions on concessions, bedrolls and meal services, would remain in effect.
No timeline provided
It also said that for tickets booked in advance, no difference of fare is to be collected by Railways, nor is any refund permitted. Neither order, however, specifies when the zonal railways are required to revert to their pre-Covid regular services.
“The zonal railways have been instructed. While the order is with immediate effect, the process will take a day or two,” a senior official said.
“With this, more than 1,700 trains will be restored in the next few days,” another official said.
With the operation of special trains and no concessions, the Railways’ revenue has seen substantial growth. The transporter registered an increase of 113 per cent in earnings from the passenger segment in the second quarter of FY22 as compared to the first.