Railway Fare Hike from July; Aadhaar OTP Must for Tatkal Tickets
Train fares are set to rise slightly starting next month, according to officials from the Railway Ministry. The revised rates will see a hike of 1 paise per kilometre for non-AC travel on Mail and Express trains, while AC class tickets will increase by 2 paise per kilometre.
A railway official told PTI that this is the smallest fare increase compared to the last revisions in 2020 and 2013. The official also confirmed that fares for suburban trains and monthly season tickets will remain unchanged to support regular commuters.
The official said that second-class fare up to 500 km of travel will remain unchanged. For distances over 500 km, fares may be hiked by half paisa per km.
According to officials, train fare was last hiked on January 1, 2020. Then, second-class fare for ordinary and Mail/Express trains was increased by 1 paisa/km and 2 paise/km, respectively. Fares in sleeper classes and all AC classes went up by 2 paise/km and 4 paise/km, respectively.
“Before 2020, it was in 2013 when the train fares for all classes were revised significantly. For instance, the second-class fare for ordinary trains was raised by 2 paise and the second-class fare for Express/Mail trains increased by 4 paise. The sleeper class fare went up by 6 paise,” the official said. “In 2013, all AC class fares, except AC II, were increased by 10 paise/km, and AC II fare went up by 6 paise/km.”
July will see another major change in Railways, as the ministry has decided to incorporate Aadhaar-based OTP authentication into the ticket reservation system to cut off middlemen.
From July 1, Tatkal tickets through IRCTC’s official website and mobile app will be available only to users authenticated with Aadhaar. Aadhaar-based OTP authentication will become mandatory for online Tatkal bookings from July 15.
Tatkal tickets booked at computerised Passenger Reservation System counters and through authorised agents will also require OTP authentication sent to the mobile number provided by the user at the time of booking.
