IRCTC New Guidelines July 2025:
The Indian Railways is set to increase passenger fares starting July 1, 2025, marking the first fare hike in the last five years. The previous fare revision happened in 2020. Officials clarified that this is the smallest fare hike in the last 12 years.
The new hike applies mainly to second-class and long-distance travelers, while fares for monthly passes and suburban trains will remain the same.
New Fare Details:
Second-Class Ordinary Tickets: Increase of 0.5 paisa per kilometer for trips beyond 500 km.
Mail/Express Trains: 1 paisa per kilometer hike.
Air-Conditioned (AC) Classes: Increase of 2 paise per kilometer.
The Railways has also stated that tickets booked before July 1, 2025, will not be affected by the new fare structure.
Aadhaar-Based Tatkal Booking:
A new change will also be introduced for Tatkal reservations. From July 1, passengers booking under the Tatkal quota must provide their Aadhaar details while reserving tickets. This step is aimed at making the booking process more secure and transparent.
Previous Fare Hikes:
The last major fare hike took place in 2013, when fares across all classes were increased. At that time:
Second-class ordinary fares rose by 2 paise per kilometer.
Mail/Express fares went up by 4 paise per kilometer.
Sleeper class fares increased by 6 paise per kilometer.
AC class fares were raised by up to 10 paise per kilometer.
Why the Fare Hike?
Railway officials explained that this fare revision was long overdue. The additional revenue of around Rs 1,500 crore will be used to improve facilities for passengers, such as better amenities at stations and inside trains.
Similar fare increases took place in 2013, 2014, and 2020, and officials say this step is essential to support the Railways’ growing expenses and infrastructure upgrades.
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