Fare hikes without course correction

Rising costs force modest train fare hikes, but safety and services remain outside the scope of change

The Indian Railways, in its latest fare revision announced this week, has kept the hikes moderate and largely limited to the higher classes. Travel in AC coaches and non-AC coaches in mail and express trains will become costlier from Friday.

The hike of 2 paise per km in these classes does not look very high, but this is the second revision in the year, and trains are no longer the cheap travel option they once were. There is no increase in fares for suburban services and monthly season tickets, which cover the largest segment of passengers. 

Ordinary-class travel has been spared – there is no hike in fares for up to 215 km. It is estimated that the Railways would earn about Rs 600 crore during the current year from the fare revision.

The Railways has cited rising operational costs as a reason for the hike. It has significantly expanded its network and operations in the last decade, leading to an overall increase in expenditure. Manpower costs have increased to Rs 1.15 lakh crore, and pension liabilities to Rs 60,000 crore. The total operational costs are estimated at Rs 2.63 lakh crore in 2024-25. 

There has been a focused effort to meet the increased costs by raising the volume of cargo movement and avoiding hikes in passenger fares. There is logic in the policy – as a public service organisation, the Railways has to provide the cheapest form of transport. Crores of people, including the poorest, travel by train every day on a network that links regions across the country.

With raised fares, however, comes greater scrutiny of passenger amenities. The Railways should significantly improve its delivery of services and ensure that the prescribed safety standards are met. Complaints about hygiene, scheduling and delays, and mismanagement have persisted for decades.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), train accidents of one type or another cause 60 deaths every day. This is an alarming number that calls for a deep review of safety protocols. Kavach, the indigenous railway safety system, has coverage of a mere 3 per cent of the routes; the system is active in less than 1 per cent of the trains.

Training and human resources development have suffered – over three lakh vacancies are to be filled. While the allocations are not fully utilised, the wastage of funds extends the crisis. Years of inaction have resulted in a situation that warrants comprehensive change across operations. A year that saw two fare revisions can be a good place to take the turn.