NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Railways has agreed to grant Zonal Railways authority to reduce train ticket prices by 25%. Concession will be given in AC Chair Car and Executive Class. Officials informed that the new fare will be applicable for trains including Vande Bharat and will be implemented soon. The discount is being implemented to optimize the utilization of accommodation in trains.

The concession will be given only in trains where fifty per cent of seats are vacant during the last 30 days. Tickets that are already booked are non-refundable. This scheme will not be applicable on special trains introduced as holiday or festival specials. The element of discount will be up to a maximum of 25% on the basic fare. Other charges including reservation charge, Super fast surcharge, and GST applicable, will be levied separately. Meanwhile, Kerala may not get this concession.

There were reports the other day that the fares of Vandebharat trains will be reduced. Fares of Vande Bharat trains on Indore-Bhopal, Bhopal-Jabalpur and Nagpur-Bilaspur routes will be reduced. There has been a huge drop in the number of passengers on the Vande Bharat Express in these areas. According to the June report, there were only 29 per cent of passengers on these routes.