- Highlights:
- Railways has a plan to collect user charges from passengers at congested stations
- Railway Board Chairman said that ticket prices will be increased to provide better facilities to passengers
- VK Yadav said that the user charge will be so low that passengers will not have trouble
The Indian Railways will soon start ‘user fees’ as part of train fares for the stations that have been redeveloped and those with high footfall in order to generate revenue to provide better facilities for passengers, Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said Thursday.
CEO and chairman of Railway Board V.K Yadav said, “We will charge very small amount as user charge. We will issue a notification to collect user charges at stations which are being redelivered or have been redelivered.”
He said that as long as the redevelopment work of the stations continues, the amount recovered as user charge will be used to provide better facilities to the passengers at the stations. Yadav added that after the completion of redevelopment of stations, this amount will be offset by losses due to ticket concession.
User fee will have to be given at 700 to 750 railway stations.
He said that the user charge will be so low that passengers will not have trouble. Yadav said that this is necessary because Indian Railways is insisting on providing world class facilities to its passengers.
When he was asked whether the user fee would be charged at every railway station, Yadav said that there are 7 thousand railway stations in which only 10 to 15 percent stations will be charged. These 700 to 750 railway stations will be where congestion is expected to increase in the next five years.
A spokesperson of the Ministry of Railways said, “There will be no user fee compared to the facilities which will be increased at the stations.”
The process of collecting user charge will start gradually and will be applicable at 10 to 15 percent stations step by step. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal also confirmed this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
