The Indian Railways is set to implement a nationwide passenger fare hike for second class passengers on long distance trains starting from July 1, 2025. This will be the first increase since the last fare hike in 2020. The maximum fare hike, Indian Railways stated, will be 2 paise per kilometre.
Fares for non-AC coaches will rise by 1 paisa per kilometre, while AC classes will see an increase of 2 paise per kilometre. However, there will be no fare changes for suburban trains and ordinary second-class travel for distances up to 500 kilometre.
For second-class journeys exceeding 500 kilometre, fares will increase by only 0.5 paisa per kilometre. Monthly season tickets (MSTs) will remain unaffected, providing relief to daily commuters.
There will be no changes in fares for Monthly Season Tickets (MSTs) and Suburban train fares. Additionally, other charges like the reservation fee and superfast surcharge will remain unchanged.
In addition to the fare hike, Indian Railways will tighten rules for Tatkal ticket bookings. Starting July 1, 2025, only passengers who have completed Aadhaar verification will be allowed to book Tatkal tickets via the IRCTC website or mobile app. From July 15, 2025, an OTP-based Aadhaar authentication will become mandatory during the Tatkal booking process. This move aims to increase transparency and reduce fraudulent bookings.
Indian Railways is also working on preparing the final reservation chart eight hours prior to a train’s departure, replacing the previous norm of four hours. This significant shift aims to enhance transparency and passenger convenience. The move, currently under pilot testing, is expected to benefit waitlisted passengers by giving them additional time to make alternate plans if their tickets remain unconfirmed.
Alongside the early charting initiative, Indian Railways plans to launch a modernised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) by December 2025. Developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the upgrade will streamline ticketing operations and enhance user experience. Once implemented, the upgraded PRS will be able to process over 1.5 lakh ticket bookings per minute, marking a nearly fivefold increase from the current capacity of 32,000 bookings per minute.
Source: News18