Hyderabad: The railway ministry on Saturday introduced a discount fare scheme in AC chair car and executive class coaches on all trains, including the Vande Bharat Express where occupancy is less than 15 per cent. The maximum discount will be 25 per cent of the fare and will cover Anubhuti and Vistadome coaches.
The flexi fare scheme will be withdrawn in trains which have poor occupancy rate. The new fares will depend on those of competitive modes of transport.
With a view to optimise utilisation of accommodation in trains, the ministry has decided to delegate powers to zonal railways to introduce the discounted fare scheme in trains with AC sitting accommodation.
Other charges for reservation, super fast trains and GST will be levied separately. The order said trains having "classes with occupancy less than 50 per cent (either end-to-end or in some specified legs/sections depending upon the sections where discount is to be provided) during the last 30 days shall be taken into consideration."
While most Vande Bharat Express trains have been running full, especially those from the city, the news agency PTI said the Bhopal-Indore service recorded 29 per cent and 21 per cent on the return journey. The Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express had an average occupancy of around 55 per cent and the Bhopal-Jabalpur service 32 per cent.
The railways said no refund of fare shall be admissible for already booked passengers. This scheme will not be applicable on special trains introduced as holiday or festival specials.
