Indian Railways rationalises fare structure; marginal hike from December 26

New Delhi [India], December 25 (ANI): The Railways has rationalised its passenger fare structure with effect from December 26, with the objective of balancing affordability for passengers and sustainability of operations.
Speaking on the fare rationalisation, Executive Director (Information and Publicity) of the Railway Board, Dilip Kumar, said that the new fare rates will be implemented from midnight.
"... From midnight on 25 December, new fare prices will be implemented. There will be no changes to suburban train fares, and seasonal ticket fares will remain unchanged. In passenger trains, fares for travel up to 215 kilometres will also remain unchanged..." Kumar said.
Under the revised fare structure, there is no change in fares for suburban services and season tickets, including both suburban and non-suburban routes.
For Ordinary Non-AC (Non-Suburban) services, fares have been rationalised in a graded manner across Second Class Ordinary, Sleeper Class Ordinary, and First Class Ordinary.
In Second Class Ordinary, there is no increase in fare for journeys up to 215 km, ensuring that short-distance and daily commuters are not impacted. For distances from 216 km to 750 km, the fare increases by ₹5. For longer journeys, the increase is applied in steps -- ₹10 for distances between 751 km and 1250 km, ₹15 for distances between 1251 km and 1750 km, and ₹20 for distances between 1751 km and 2250 km.
In Sleeper Class Ordinary and First Class Ordinary, fares have been revised uniformly at the rate of 1 paise per kilometre for non-suburban journeys, ensuring a gradual and limited increase in fares.
In Mail/Express trains, the fare increase has been rationalised at 2 paise per kilometre across Non-AC and AC classes. This includes Sleeper Class, First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier, and AC First Class. As an illustration, for a 500 km journey in non-AC Mail/Express coaches, passengers will pay only about ₹10 extra.
The existing basic fares of major train services, including Tejas Rajdhani, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Tejas, Mahamana, Gatimaan, Antyodaya, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, and Ordinary non-suburban services (excluding AC MEMU/DEMU, where applicable), have been revised in line with the approved class-wise basic fare increases. The revision has been carried out uniformly and in a calibrated manner across applicable classes.
Notably, no changes have been made in reservation fees, superfast surcharges, or other ancillary charges, which will continue to be levied as per existing rules. GST applicability remains unchanged, and fares will continue to be rounded off according to prevailing norms.
The revised fares are applicable only on tickets booked on or after December 26, 2025. Tickets booked prior to this date will not attract any additional charges, even if the journey is undertaken after the effective date.
The fare list displayed at stations will also be updated to reflect the new fares effective from December 26, 2025. (ANI)