Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai. There is bad news for the elderly passengers and sportspersons traveling by Indian Railways. The Railways has refused to give them a discount in the fare. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said this in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the fares are already very low in most of the categories and the government still bears 50% of the cost of the fare.
Minister also said that due to the concession given to the elderly, the Railways had to bear an additional expenditure of Rs 1667 crore in the year 2019-20. Similarly, an additional expenditure of Rs 1636 crore had to be incurred in 2018-19 due to the concession given to the elderly.
Earlier elderly get 50 percent discount
Before Covid-19, people above 60 years of age i.e. senior citizens used to get 50% discount on rail tickets. But when the train service was stopped during the Corona period, this exemption was abolished. However, when the train services were started again, this exemption was not restored. Not only this, the government has no intention of giving concession in rent to senior citizens in future also.
Divyangs to get discount
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said in a written reply in Parliament today that giving concession in fares to senior citizens puts a huge burden on the government's exchequer. So there is no plan to restore it. The facility of rebate in fare has been reintroduced only for the special category people. These include four categories of disabled, 11 categories of patients and more students.
Food will get expensive if not booked in advance
It is worth noting that the Railways has recently made some changes in its rates regarding catering service in premium trains. According to the new rules, now if you do not book in advance, then food in trains will be expensive. You will have to pay an additional service charge of Rs 50. However, tea has been kept out of this purview. Railways has waived on-board service charges on all food and beverages that are not pre-ordered in premium trains. However, a charge of Rs 50 has been added to the prices of breakfast, lunch or dinner.
