Railway fare hike is expected in India starting July 1st, with a minimal increase for AC and non-AC classes.

Railway fare hike is expected in India starting July 1st, with a minimal increase for AC and non-AC classes.

Railway fare hike is expected in India starting July 1st, with a minimal increase for AC and non-AC classes.

New Delhi: The Railway Ministry is likely to revise passenger fares from July 1, with a proposed hike of 2 paise per kilometre for all AC classes and 1 paisa per kilometre for non-AC Mail/Express trains, officials told PTI on Tuesday.

The proposed increase will be the lowest in over a decade, compared to fare hikes in 2020 and 2013, a senior railway official added.

There will be no change in fares for suburban trains and monthly season tickets, in a move aimed at protecting daily commuters from any additional burden.

The official also said that ordinary second-class fares will remain unchanged for distances up to 500 km. For journeys beyond that, a nominal hike of half a paisa per km may be introduced.

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The last fare revision took place on January 1, 2020, when the second-class fare for ordinary and Mail/Express trains was increased by 1 paisa and 2 paise per km, respectively. Sleeper and AC classes saw a hike of 2 and 4 paise per km.

Prior to that, in 2013, all classes saw a significant fare hike. Second-class fares for ordinary and Express/Mail trains rose by 2 and 4 paise per km respectively, while sleeper class fares went up by 6 paise. AC classes saw a uniform increase of 10 paise per km, except AC II, which was raised by 6 paise.

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