Measures to prevent fleecing of passengers in name of flexi fare

Measures to prevent fleecing of passengers in name of flexi fare

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RAJYA SABHA

QUESTION NO 454

ANSWERED ON 20.07.2018

Measures to prevent fleecing of passengers in name of flexi fare

454 Shri P.L. Punia

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :-

(a) whether it is a fact that railway passengers do not get confirmed tickets of trains and passengers are being looted in the name of railway flexi fare and they have to buy tickets at threefold to fourfold rates of the actual rate;

(b) whether Railways propose to increase the number of coaches in trains and run additional trains so as to prevent looting of passengers in the name of flexi fare; and

(c) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a) to (c) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 454 BY SHRI P.L. PUNIA ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 20.07.2018 REGARDING MEASURES TO PREVENT FLEECING OF PASSENGERS IN NAME OF FLEXI FARE

(a): In the computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS), confirmed berths/seats are allotted on first come first served basis till the availability and thereafter RAC/Waiting List tickets are issued. The status of RAC/Waiting List tickets get automatically updated against the cancellation of confirmed berths/seats and also against release of unutilised reservation quotas. Since the available accommodation is accessed simultaneously through internet as well as through PRS centers of Indian Railways, particularly during peak rush periods and in popular trains, it gets exhausted within a short span of time. However, during non-peak periods and in non-popular trains, the accommodation is available for relatively longer periods. In case of urgent travel requirement, tickets can also be booked under Tatkal scheme.

The concept of flexi fare has been introduced only in Rajdhani, Shatabdi & Duronto trains w.e.f. 09.09.2016. Under this scheme, the fare increases by 10% with every 10% of berths sold subject to maximum limit of 1.5 times in classes Second AC, Sleeper, Second sitting (reserved), AC Chair Car and 1.4 times in 3rd AC class. No change has been made in the fare of 1st AC and Executive class.

Operating cost of running of passenger services is increasing year after year resulting in adverse impact on passenger segment. Passenger segment is being cross subsidised by the freight segment. In order to generate additional revenues from passenger segment and reduce cross-subsidisation from freight, flexi fare system has been introduced in Rajdhani, Shatabdi & Duronto trains which offer faster transit time and highest level of amenities.

(b) & (c): Introduction of new trains and augmentation of load is a continuous process on Indian Railway which is dependent to factors like operational feasibility, commercial justification and availability of resources etc. Besides, to cater to the needs of passengers during festive seasons, vacations etc, special trains are also run along with temporary augmentation of coaches to the existing services. Accordingly, during the period April, 2017 to March, 2018, Indian Railways have introduced 90 new trains, extended 43 existing trains and increased the frequency of 9 pair trains. The above efforts to increase carrying capacity have been further reinforced by undertaking permanently augmenting loads of existing trains by inducting 540 coaches. During this period, Indian Railways also operated 36799 special train trips and attached 96723 extra coach trips to cater to the travelling needs of the passengers.