Date: 2026-03-11Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
Railways Does not Consider Fares as a Trade Secret; Any Changes in Passenger Fare Rationalisation, Revisions, etc. Undertaken From Time to Time are Widely Published: Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw
**Executive Summary**
This document outlines Indian Railways' transparency regarding passenger fares, emphasizing that fare changes are publicly announced and not considered trade secrets. It highlights significant subsidies provided to passengers and details concessions offered to specific groups. Key deadlines and action items are not explicitly mentioned, but the document details ongoing efforts and future plans for service enhancement.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Transparency and Fare Information**
* Indian Railways does not consider ticket fares as a "trade secret"; all fare-related information is publicly available.
* Details of fare components (base fare, reservation charge, etc.) are displayed on tickets, fare tables, and through computerized ticketing systems and mobile applications.
* Any rationalisation or revision of passenger fares is widely published.
**Subsidies and Concessions**
* Indian Railways provided a subsidy of ₹60,239 crore on passenger tickets in 2024-25, amounting to an average concession of 43%.
* This subsidy translates to passengers paying approximately ₹57 for a service that costs ₹100 to provide.
* Additional concessions are available for specific categories, including Persons with Disabilities, patients, and students.
**Dedicated Quotas and Facilities**
* Priority lower berths and dedicated quotas are provided for Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities, female passengers above 45 years, and pregnant women across Sleeper, 3AC/2AC, and reserved seating classes.
* Facilities include automatic allotment of lower berths, earmarking of lower berths per coach for eligible categories, and reservation quotas for Persons with Disabilities and their attendants.
* Vacant lower berths are prioritized for senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities, or pregnant women.
**Vande Bharat Sleeper Services**
* The Vande Bharat Sleeper Express service commenced on January 22, 2026.
* The proliferation of Vande Bharat sleeper services depends on factors like section capacity, path availability, rolling stock, infrastructure, maintenance, and traffic requirements.
* Vande Bharat Sleeper trains feature modern coaches with advanced safety and passenger amenities.
* The fare for Vande Bharat Sleeper 3AC is ₹2.40 per PKM (excluding GST), with indicative fares for 1000 km at ₹2400 (excluding GST).
* Vande Bharat Sleeper is an all-inclusive fare category with no provision for RAC tickets; waiting list confirmation occurs upon confirmed ticket cancellations.
* Vande Bharat Sleeper fares range between ₹2.40 to ₹3.80 per PKM, significantly lower than similar services in China, Japan, and France.
**Fare Determination**
* Passenger fares are determined considering the cost of service, competition from other transport modes, and affordability.
* Indian Railways operates diverse train services to cater to various societal needs, including trains with lower fares for underprivileged sections and those with enhanced facilities.
**Impact Analysis**
**All Passengers**
* **Impact:** Benefit from lower fares due to significant subsidies and concessions. Transparency in fare information ensures clarity.
* **Action Required:** No specific action required; continue to utilize railway services.
**Senior Citizens**
* **Impact:** Receive priority for lower berth allocation and dedicated quotas.
* **Action Required:** No specific action required; these provisions are automatically applied or available upon request subject to availability.
**Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)**
* **Impact:** Receive priority for lower berth allocation and dedicated quotas, including provisions for attendants.
* **Action Required:** No specific action required; these provisions are automatically applied or available upon request subject to availability.
**Female Passengers Above 45 Years and Pregnant Women**
* **Impact:** Receive priority for lower berth allocation and dedicated quotas.
* **Action Required:** No specific action required; these provisions are automatically applied or available upon request subject to availability.
**Students**
* **Impact:** Continue to benefit from concessions beyond the general subsidy.
* **Action Required:** No specific action required; continue to avail of concessional travel.
**Indian Railways**
* **Impact:** Continues to provide affordable and accessible services while operating in a financially sustainable manner. Vande Bharat Sleeper services represent an ongoing effort to improve passenger experience and expand services.
* **Action Required:** Continue to publish fare information transparently, implement fare rationalisation and revisions as needed, and further develop and proliferate services like Vande Bharat Sleeper.
Key Entities Referenced
Indian Railways: The primary entity operating passenger rail services and responsible for fare setting, subsidies, and concessions.
Vande Bharat Sleeper: A specific type of train service whose fare structure and features are detailed, representing a new offering and a point of comparison.
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw: The Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, who made a statement regarding railway fares.
Senior Citizens, Persons With Disabilities, Female Passengers Above 45 Years, And Pregnant Women: Key demographic groups who receive specific concessions and priority accommodations on Indian Railways.
Ministry of Railways
Railways Does not Consider Fares as a Trade
Secret; Any Changes in Passenger Fare
Rationalisation, Revisions, etc. Undertaken From
Time to Time are Widely Published: Shri Ashwini
Vaishnaw
Fare of Vande Bharat Sleeper Ranges Between ₹2.40 to ₹3.80
Per PKM, Much Lower Than Similar Services In China, Japan
And France Where It Ranges From ₹7.00 To ₹20.00 Per PKM
Indian Railways Gave Subsidy of Rs. 60,239 Crore on
Passenger Tickets in 2024–25, Amounting to Concession Of
43% on an Average to Every Person Travelling on Railways
Railways Provides Priority Lower Berths And Dedicated
Quotas For Senior Citizens, Persons With Disabilities, Female
Passengers Above 45 Years, And Pregnant Women Across
Sleeper, 3AC/2AC, And Reserved Seating Classes
Posted On: 11 MAR 2026 6:22PM by PIB Delhi
Ministry of Railway does not consider ticket fare as a “trade secret”. The information related to fares
for all categories of Passenger Services is a widely published information available in the public
domain.
Indian Railways gave subsidy of Rs. 60,239 crore 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.
To ensure utmost transparency, details of various components of passenger fares (Base fare,
Reservation charge, Superfast charge, GST, etc.) are displayed on passenger tickets, published as fare
tables in physical and digital form, available / displayed on computerized ticketing systems (Passenger
Reservation System, Unreserved Ticketing System), mobile applications (RailOne), etc.Further, information related to any change in the passenger fares rationalisation, revisions, etc.,
undertaken from time to time is also widely published. Indian Railways as a public owned enterprise is
fully accountable to the people and to the Parliament for delivery of services in a financially
sustainable manner. Passenger fares are determined taking into consideration cost of service,
competition from other modes of transportation, affordability, etc.
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.
The first Vande Bharat Sleeper service viz. 27575/27576 Howrah- Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper
Express has been introduced w.e.f. 22.01.2026. The proliferation of new train services, including
Vande Bharat sleeper services, is an on-going process, depends on various factors which include-
Capacity of that section
Availability of path
Availability of required rolling stock
Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock
Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets.
Occupancy and the traffic requirement of the section
To improve travel experience of the passengers, Vande Bharat Sleeper have been provided with
modern coaches having advanced safety features and passenger amenities like Jerk-Free semi
permanent couplers, KAVACH, higher acceleration, improved fire safety standards, sealed gangways,
CCTVs in all coaches, emergency talk-back unit centralized coach monitoring system, etc.
The fare structure of Vande Bharat Sleeper train are based on per passenger- per kilometer rate, i.e for
3rd Air-conditioned Class (3AC) is ₹2.40 excluding GST. The indicative fares for a distance of 1000
km excluding GST are ₹2400 for 3 AC.
Vande Bharat Sleeper train is a different category of passenger service with an all inclusive fare and
this train has no provision of RAC tickets. Passengers in waiting list get confirmation when confirmed
passengers cancel tickets. Therefore services are accessible to passengers.Railways always strive to provide affordable services to all strata of society. Accordingly, it operates
different categories of train services to cater to the travel needs of various categories of society which
include trains with lower fare to give benefit to underprivileged section of the society and also trains
with enhanced facilities.
The fares of Indian Railways are among the lowest in comparison to other countries in the world. The
fare of Vande Bharat Sleeper ranges between ₹2.40 to ₹3.80 per PKM which is much lower than the
fares of similar segment of services in countries like China, Japan and France, where it ranges from
₹7.00 to ₹20.00 per PKM.
This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and
Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to questions in Lok Sabha
today.
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Dharmendra Tewari/ Ritu Raj
(Release ID: 2238430) Visitor Counter : 148
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