Train prices to reduce! Indian Railways drops ‘special train’ tags; All train services to run as regular, with pre-Covid fares

Curbs introduced in view of Covid such as temporary restrictions on concessions, bed rolls and meal services would continue to be in effect. (PTI photo)

Here’s some good news for Indian train passengers! The Railway Board on Friday announced that the ticket prices have dropped and reverted to pre-pandemic fares with immediate effect. In a bid to discourage people from travelling in the pandemic, the Railways had increased the ticket prices. Since the lockdown restrictions were eased, all long and short distance passenger trains were running as special trains with higher prices.

The Railways issued an order on Friday where it mentioned the discontinuation of this special tag for all mail and express trains.  The order does not specify when the zonal railways are required to go back to their regular services. However, a senior official said that the process might take a day or two.

The Board, in a letter to the zonal railways, stated that the trains will now be operated with their regular numbers and fares as applicable for the concerned classes of travel and type of train. Over 1700 trains will be restored in the next few days. Officials have also stated that even though the prices will go down, temporary restrictions on things like bed rolls, meal services and concessions would continue to exist.

In terms of financial growth, the official data shows that in comparison with first quarter of 2021-22, the second quarter numbers show a sharp spike of 113% in terms of earnings form the key passenger segment of the Indian Railways.