Tue Jun 24 16:03:10 UTC 2025: **News Article:**

**Indian Railways to Hike Fares After Five Years, Aiming for Financial Sustainability**

**NEW DELHI, June 24, 2025** – Indian Railways is set to increase passenger fares starting July 1, 2025, after a five-year period of unchanged prices. The move aims to improve the financial health of the national rail network, which transported 715 crore passengers between April 2024 and March 2025.

The fare increase will be implemented incrementally. Non-AC Mail and Express train fares will rise by one paisa per kilometre, while air-conditioned coaches will see a two-paise per kilometre increase. However, fares for suburban tickets, monthly season tickets, and ordinary second-class tickets up to 500 kilometres will remain unchanged. A slight increase of half a paisa per kilometre is being considered for ordinary second-class tickets for journeys exceeding 500 km.

M. Jamshed, Former Member (Traffic), Railway Board, stated that the fare hike was a long-overdue rationalization that could contribute an additional ₹1,500 crore to ₹1,600 crore in passenger revenues. He noted that similar hikes had been implemented in 2013, 2014 and 2020.

Despite the anticipated revenue increase, Jamshed cautioned that the financial sustainability of Indian Railways remains a challenge. While passenger revenue reached ₹75,457 crore in FY2024-25, it fell short of the budgetary estimate of ₹80,000 crore.

A former railway official suggested that while the hike may seem nominal to individual passengers, the railway authorities should focus on service improvements such as cleaner toilets and better-quality meals.

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