Indian Railways just dropped a small fare increase that’s gonna start from December 26, and they’re saying it’ll bring in an extra ₹600 crore this year. Honestly, it’s not a massive jump, more like a little nudge to cover their rising bills.
So here’s the deal: if you’re travelling short distances—anything up to 215 km in ordinary class or monthly passes or suburban trains—nothing changes, zero hike. That’s good news for daily commuters.
But beyond 215 km, it’s going up by 1 paisa per km for ordinary class, and 2 paisa per km for Mail/Express (whether AC or non-AC). So let’s say you’re doing a 600 km trip in a sleeper coach—your ticket will probably be ₹15–20 more than last week. AC 3-tier, maybe ₹30–35 extra. Not nothing, but also not the kind of hike that’ll make you cancel your Diwali return ticket.
They already did a similar small adjustment back in July, and that one pulled in about ₹700 crore. This time they’re calling it “fare rationalisation” rather than a straight-up hike, probably because they know people get angry when fares go up.
The Railways is spending a fortune these days—manpower costs alone are ₹1.15 lakh crore, pensions another ₹60,000 crore, and overall running expenses hit ₹2.63 lakh crore last year. They’ve built thousands of kilometres of new tracks, added tons of Vande Bharat trains, pushed safety upgrades, and now they’ve got more staff to pay.
The minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, keeps saying the focus is on making trains faster, cleaner, and safer while keeping fares affordable for the average person. This tiny increase is basically them trying to balance that.
if you’re booking after December 26, just check the new fare on IRCTC. Tickets already booked before that date stay at old prices. It’s not going to break anyone’s bank, but it’s definitely a reminder that even the cheapest train tickets in the world aren’t completely immune to inflation.
What do you think—fair move or too soon after the last one?
Sources:
- Ministry of Railways official release
- The Indian Express
- The Hindu
- Hindustan Times
- PTI news wire
