News Brief
Railways To Marginally Hike AC, Non-AC Fares From 1 July; No Change In Suburban, MST Tariffs: Report
Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw inspecting ‘Kavach,’ the indigenously developed automatic train protection system (Representative Image)
The Indian Railways will implement a marginal fare hike for AC and non-AC Mail, Express, and second-class tickets starting 1 July, The New Indian Express reported, citing a senior railway official.
According to the TNIE report, there will be no fare hike for ordinary second-class train tickets for journeys up to 500 km, and suburban fare tariffs along with Monthly Season Ticket (MST) prices are also expected to remain unchanged.
For journeys exceeding 500 km in ordinary second class, Indian Railways plans to introduce a marginal increase of just half a paisa per kilometre.
Non-AC Mail and Express trains are likely to see a one paisa per kilometre hike, while AC class tickets may be increased by two paise per kilometre.
The revised fare structure is aimed at being minimal, with no significant financial impact on passengers.
Earlier this month, Indian Railways announced that Aadhaar authentication will be mandatory for Tatkal train ticket bookings starting 1 July 2025.
In a directive issued on 10 June, the Railway Ministry informed all zones that the move is intended to ensure the Tatkal Scheme benefits genuinely reach common users, preventing misuse and improving transparency.
As per the notification, starting 15 July 2025, Tatkal tickets booked at computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters and through authorised agents will require OTP authentication.
The OTP will be sent to the mobile number provided by the user at the time of booking.
