Railways to introduce dynamic fares | Fusion - WeRIndia

Indian Railways is planning to introduce flexible or dynamic fares in all trains for all classes. The passenger traffic for the railways has been plunging for the last few years throughout the country. That’s why railways seeks various ways to increase revenue from passengers especially on high-density routes. Since railways has its own limitations in widening its network, various suggestions are proposed to expand the commercial arm.

Even though, there is a plunge in the number of railway passengers, the revenue has increased by 8.5 percent during April to September this year compared to last year. This may be due to the launching of premium and Suvidha trains which were successes even though their fare is expensive.

Considering the success of these trains and the proposals, railways has been discussing two options. The first one is to introduce dynamic or flexible fares. These fares will increase or decrease as per the demand for those tickets. Another one is the introduction of special fares for tickets that are booked closer to the departure date i.e. there will be an increase in the fare of tickets according to the date of booking.

All these proposals will be included in the coming railway budget. The main aim of these proposals is to increase revenue and access to tickets for as many people as they can. The current booking system is not reaching a large number of passengers as several agents are booking tickets in many trains to get confirmed tickets which leads to duplication of booking.

Railways has been working to solve these issues. According to some railway officials, the recent cancellation and refund policies help to reduce the booking of agent tickets since the cancellation is expensive under these policies. So, the left over tickets will be open to general public. Similarly, various proposals have been invited to generate revenue and reach large number of passengers. Railways is encouraging its officials to come up with innovative ideas in this regard.

Image by KARTICK DUTTA from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/photos/indian-railway-train-travel-2405928/