Railways to increase passenger fares, know how much more you will have to pay for AC, non-AC, sleeper class and...

Beware! You will have to pay more for train travel. No one will be spared, from general class to sleeper to air-conditioned compartments, passengers of all segments will have to cough up more. This will be the first hike in train fares since the COVID-19 days. According to the Economic Times, while fares for non-AC Mail/Express will go up by one paisa per kilometer, it will be hiked two paise per kilometer for AC classes. Fare for second-class and suburban tickets up to a distance of 500 kilometre will not be increased. However, it will go up by half paise per kilometer for distances beyond 500 kilometre. The price for monthly season tickets will not be hiked. The increase in fare will come into effect on July 1, 2025. 

Indian Railways Guidelines

Indian Railways is going through a phased change, slowly but gradually. Recently it announced requiring Aadhaar authentication for Tatkal train ticket bookings starting July 1, 2025. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that it would be done "to ensure that the benefits of the Tatkal Scheme are received by the common end users." In an official notification, Indian Railways said, "With effect from 01-07-2025, tickets under Tatkal scheme can be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)/ its app only by Aadhaar authenticated users."

Tatkal Tickets

The Railways also said that while booking tickets, passengers will have to go through an additional step for Aadhar-based OTP authentication. Besides, the new guidelines also put a limit on the number of Tatkal tickets an agent can book. Now, these agents can not book Tatkal tickets for the first half an hour on the first day. It means an agent can not book Tatkal tickets for the same day from 10 AM to 10.30 AM for the AC class and from 11 AM to 11.30 for the non-AC class.