After raising platform ticket prices to Rs 30, Railways issues clarification on hike

After raising platform ticket prices to Rs 30, Railways issues clarification on hike

The Indian Railways have announced a fare hike for platform tickets across its network. The fresh notification by the railways stated that the platform ticket price has been increased from Rs 10 to Rs 30.

The present increase in platform ticket prices at some stations is a 'temporary' measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through crowding.

"Regulation and controlling of the crowd at stations is the responsibility of DRMs. It is a Temporary measure and field activity undertaken by a railway administration in the interest of the safety of passengers and to prevent overcrowding at stations," the Union Railway Ministry said in the statement.

"Deterring more persons to visit the station, the platform ticket charges are increased from time to time after assessing ground situation. The power to change charges of platform tickets has been delegated to DRMs due to field management requirement," the statement said.

This comes after the rise in the ticket fares of short-distance passenger trains in February. The railways had then said that the 'slightly high fares' are only to discourage unnecessary travel.

Key pointers

The decision was taken by the Ministry of Railways in the interest of the safety of passengers. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the fair hike aims to achieve its target of reducing the number of people at stations. The decision would help ensure social distancing.

A notification in this regard was issued by the ministry, in which it said that regulation and controlling of the crowd at stations is the responsibility of the Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs).

The ministry said that there was nothing new about the measure as it is in practice for many years and is used occasionally as a short-term crowd control measure. In February too, the ministry had hiked the ticket fares of short-distance passenger trains to discourage people from unnecessary travel.

The platform ticket price has been increased from Rs 10 to Rs 30.