Airfare model on trains soon
Cash-strapped Indian Railways to introduce new fares on the basis of demand of tickets.
By : manish anand
Update: 2014-01-27 08:16 GMT
New Delhi: Cash-strapped railways are all set to earn more revenue by replicating the airlines fare model on some new trains. It is planning to introduce 20 new trains whose fares would be determined on the basis of the demand for their tickets.
The decision to introduce these trains has been taken after the pilot project, New Delhi-Mumbai premium trains, helped the railways earn 37 per cent more revenue than what it would have got through the current fixed fares.
An internal note with the railway board, which was accessed by this newspaper, notes that in a few months time these 20 new premium trains will be rolled out to attract those passengers, who can shell out extra money for confirmed berths for their travel.
Additionally, the railways hope to attract the air-travellers, who opt for flights after not getting confirmed berths in trains for their immediate travelling needs.
Among the 20 proposed premium trains on the anvil, 15 will be originating from the lucrative and high rush stations — New Delhi, Mumbai and Howrah. New Delhi will have the maximum share of six trains, while Mumbai and Howrah will have five and four respectively.
The train routes have been identified on the basis of waiting list in trains throughout the year, sources said, which make introduction of premium trains viable.
Tickets for these premium trains can only be booked through the portal of the IRCTC, which has the dynamic fare calculation system in place. The New Delhi-Mumbai special premium trains, which were run during the peak Winter season, had only AC coaches.
However, the 20 proposed trains will have a mix of AC and non-AC coaches, sources added. These trains will also connect popular destinations like Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Patna, Jammu Tavi, Bhubneswar, Bengaluru, Secunderabad, Madgaon (Goa), Lucknow among others.
The move to replicate the airlines model in the railways has come on the back of the sever cash crunch in the national carrier, which is struggling to arrange as much as '1,00,000 crore during the 12th Five-Year Plan.