Parliament Question: Concession/Subsidy for Divyang and Old Age Persons

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3186 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026 CONCESSION/SUBSIDY FOR DIVYANG AND OLD AGE PERSONS †3186. SHRI UTKARSH VERMA MADHUR: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether Railways proposes to restore subsidy in travel tickets for Divyang and old age persons as before and if not, the reasons therefor; (b) whether there is any plan to reserve lower berths for Divyangjan and old people and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (c) the details of the names of the States where bullet trains are planned; (d) whether there is a plan to run bullet train in Uttar Pradesh in the near future and if so, the details and time-frame thereof; and (e) whether the route of Bullet Train would pass through Lakhimpur Kheri and if so, the details and the timeline thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): Indian Railways strives to provide affordable services to all strata of the society and gave subsidy of Rs. 60,239 cr on passenger tickets in 2024-25. This amounts to concession of 43% on an average, to every person, travelling on Railways. In other words, if the cost of providing service is Rs. 100, then the price of ticket is Rs. 57 only. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers. Further, concessions beyond this subsidy amount are continuing for many categories like 4 categories of Persons with disabilities (Divyangjans), 11 categories of patients and 8 categories of students. --2/- §-2- Indian Railways continuously strive to provide various facilities for the convenience of passengers including Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities. Some of the facilities extended to Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities are as under: i. Allotment of lower berths to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), senior citizens, female passengers of 45 years and above automatically, even if no choice is given, subject to availability. ii. Earmarking of a combined quota of six to seven lower berths per coach in Sleeper class, four to five lower berths per coach each in Air Conditioned 3 tier (3AC) and three to four lower berths per coach in Air Conditioned 2 tier (2AC) classes (depending on the number of coaches of that class in the train) for senior citizens, female passengers 45 years of age and above and pregnant women. iii. Earmarking of reservation quota for Person with Disabilities and their attendants in mail/express trains including Rajdhani/Shatabdi type trains as under:- • Four berths in sleeper class (including two lower & two middle berths) • Four berths in 3AC/3E (including two lower & two middle berths) • Four seats in reserved second sitting (2S)/air conditioned Chair Car (CC) having more than two coaches of that class available in the train. iv. Allotment of lower berths falling vacant in the train to senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities or pregnant women (who have been allotted middle/upper berth) on priority. Presently, Mumbai – Ahmadabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508 kms) passing through Maharashtra and Gujarat is under execution. --3/--3- Further, to strengthen the national transport infrastructure and provide a fillip to regional economic growth, the Government has announced the development of following seven new High-Speed Rail (HSR) corridors in the Union Budget 2026-27:- (i) Mumbai-Pune (ii) Pune-Hyderabad (iii) Hyderabad-Bengaluru (iv) Hyderabad-Chennai (v) Chennai-Bengaluru (vi) Delhi-Varanasi (vii) Varanasi-Siliguri Out of the above, Delhi-Varanasi and Varanasi-Siliguri corridors pass through the state of Uttar Pradesh. However, the decision to sanction any HSR Corridor/Project being highly capital intensive depends on many factors such as outcome of DPR, techno-economic feasibility studies and availability of resources such as financing options etc. *****