Railway Minister replied to Rahul Gandhi's question
Digital Desk, New Delhi. Responding to questions asked by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on the reasons for not restoring concessions for senior citizens in trains, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Wednesday said that on an average, every passenger traveling in Indian Railways gets 45 percent concession.
Vaishnav said in a written reply that Indian Railways gave a subsidy of Rs 60,466 crore on passenger tickets in 2023-24.
Railways to provide 45% subsidy to every passenger
This gives an average concession of 45 percent to every person traveling by train. He further said that in other words, if the cost of providing the service is Rs 100, the ticket price is only Rs 55.
This subsidy continues for all passengers. Further, exemption in excess of this subsidy amount continues for several categories such as four categories of persons with disabilities, 11 categories of patients and eight categories of students.
Vaishnav's reply came in response to Rahul Gandhi's question, in which he had asked why the concession given to senior citizens has not been restored despite passenger services being completely normal during the Covid pandemic?
AC Chair Car Rent in Vande Bharat
Much lower than China, Japan and France In a written reply to another question, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said the fare for Vande Bharat AC chair car for a journey of 300-400 km is about Rs 2.19 per kilometre, which is much lower than the fare for similar services in countries like China, Japan and France.
According to Vaishnav, the fare in these countries ranges from Rs 7 to Rs 20 per kilometer. The Ministry of Railways while determining passenger fares pays due attention to aspects like cost of service, value of service, type of services and facilities provided, affordability, competition from other competing modes and socio-economic.
He further informed that Vande Bharat services were started in February 2019 and currently 164 trains are running on 82 routes.
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