Flexi-fare rule to be relaxed for Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duranto Express

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Flexi-fare rule to be relaxed for Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duranto Express
Flexi-fare rule to be relaxed for Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duranto Express

New Delhi : Flexi-fare system, launched by Indian Railways in 2016, resulted in showing a dip in the number of passenger opting to travel with them. In a move to bring some relief to the passengers, the authorities are now planning to relax the rule.

In an experiment, the Railways is planning to suspend the scheme temporarily during lean months in some identified trains that are seeing occupancy as low as 30%, a PTI report said.

The CAG in one of its report noted that the fare for trains was even higher than the fare of planes on some routes. When compared to the cost and time taken for travel by premium trains, air fare became a cheaper and preferable mode of travel, the auditor said.

As per current flexi-fare system, base fares increase from 10% to 50% with every 10% of berths booked.

Railways is considering a revision in flexi-fare system in the lines of a formula used in the Humsafar trains in which the first 50 per cent berths are sold at a 15% higher price than the base price of A/C-3 tier mail and express train tickets, the PTI report said. The slabs will go up with every 10% of the berths sold thereafter.

In less busy routes, Railways is also mulling options to offer special discounts under the flexi-fare scheme, the report said.