Indian Railways may revive some fare rebates

NEW DELHI: The railway ministry is considering reinstatement of some concessions in rail fare, discontinued during the Covid-19 pandemic, for different categories of passengers, including senior citizens and sportspersons.
Sources said that the railway bureaucracy was reconsidering the decision as the national transporter also has a social obligation. “We are giving a thought whether some concessions in fare can be resumed. Now there is complete normalcy so far as rail travel is concerned,” said a senior railway ministry official.
The government’s stand so far against revival of concessions has attracted criticism. Even BJP MP Varun Gandhi has questioned the decision to scrap the concession to senior citizens on tickets and asked why this relief was seen as a “burden” when MPs continue to get subsidy on rail fare.
The railway ministry, in a written reply to Parliament, had claimed that the cost of granting concessions “weighs heavily” on its finances.