Railways to cut fares on 5 more express trains

The discounts in fares will come to effect on different dates spread over four months.

Enthused by the increase in revenue of Shatabdi Express following a reduction in fares between Bengaluru and Mysuru, the South Western Railway (SWR) has decided to replicate the model in five other trains by the end of 2018. SWR officials said Shatabdi revenue went up by Rs 50 crore in 2017 after fares for AC chair car were slashed from Rs 490 to Rs 260 in October 2016.

The railways have declared AC-3 Tier coaches as AC Chair Cars in the passenger reservation system for specific sections of five trains. However, the discounts on fares will come to effect on different dates spread over four months. Travelling between Hubballi and Yeshwantpur will be cheaper by Rs 145 on two trains.

Starting August 4, railways reduced fares for seats in two chair-car coaches of Hubballi-Yeshwantpur Weekly Express (train no 16544) from Rs 735 to Rs 590. On the Yeshwantpur-Bikaner Express (16587) too, the same rates are applicable to the section starting from November 30. The AC chair car fares between Gadag and Solapur on Gadag-CSMT Mumbai Express (11140) will be reduced from Rs 435 to Rs 295 from November 28. On the Mysuru-Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express, the fares on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section will be slashed from Rs 495 to Rs 260 with effect from December 12.

Based on traffic pattern and timings, some trains in specific sections see less occupancy in AC coaches regardless of the high traffic of regular short-distance travellers. For instance, in the Mysuru-Bengaluru section, the majority of passengers on long-distance trains board/light at Bengaluru station.

To address this issue, the Railway Board has recently given powers to general managers at zonal levels to apply the Shatabdi model to other trains. “This is to encourage passengers to travel short distances in 3-AC coaches. Passengers can travel comfortably in superfast trains at reduced fares,” the railways said in a release.