New Delhi, Dec 25 (NationPress) The Indian Railways has made adjustments to its passenger fare framework, effective from December 26, aimed at achieving a balance between passenger affordability and operational sustainability, as stated by the Ministry of Railways on Thursday.

The ministry emphasized that there will be no changes in fares for suburban services and season tickets, which include both suburban and non-suburban routes.

For Ordinary Non-AC (Non-Suburban) services, the fare structure has been rationalized in a tiered manner across Second Class Ordinary, Sleeper Class Ordinary, and First Class Ordinary.

In Second Class Ordinary, fares will remain unchanged for journeys up to 215 km, ensuring that short-distance and daily commuters are unaffected.

For distances ranging from 216 km to 750 km, the fare will see an increase of Rs 5. For longer journeys, the increases will be applied incrementally — Rs 10 for distances between 751 km and 1250 km, Rs 15 for distances between 1251 km and 1750 km, and Rs 20 for distances between 1751 km and 2250 km, as clarified in the statement.

In Sleeper Class Ordinary and First Class Ordinary, fares will see a uniform revision at a rate of 1 paise per kilometre for non-suburban journeys, ensuring a gradual and limited fare increase.

For Mail and Express trains, the fare adjustment has been rationalized at 2 paise per kilometre across both Non-AC and AC classes. This includes Sleeper Class, First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier, and AC First Class. For instance, for a 500 km journey in a non-AC Mail and Express coach, passengers will only incur an additional charge of about Rs 10, as detailed in the statement.

The existing basic fares for major train services, such as Tejas Rajdhani, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Tejas, Mahamana, Gatimaan, Antyodaya, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, and ordinary non-suburban services (excluding AC MEMU/DEMU, where applicable), have been revised according to the approved class-wise basic fare increments. The adjustments have been implemented uniformly and in a calibrated manner across the relevant classes, as per the statement.

Importantly, there will be no alterations to reservation fees, superfast surcharges, or other ancillary charges, which will remain as per the existing regulations. The applicability of GST remains unchanged, and fares will continue to be rounded off based on current norms, as highlighted in the statement.

The updated fares will apply only to tickets booked on or after December 26, 2025. Tickets purchased prior to this date will not incur any additional charges, even if the journey occurs after the effective date, as further clarified in the statement.

The fare list displayed at stations will also be updated to show the new rates effective from December 26, the statement concluded.