Indian Railways charges two tariffs on the same train for the same route

BHUBANESWAR: As strange as it may seem, Indian Railways is imposing various tariffs on passengers traveling the same distance on a certain local train that operates between the borders of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) and the South Eastern Railway (SER) zones.

A customer using the Kharagpur-Bhadrak passenger special would pay Rs 40 for the 181 kilometers of travel from Kharagpur to Bhadrak. Remarkably, if a person takes the same train from Bhadrak to Kharagpur for the same distance, the ticket almost doubles (to Rs 75).

It may be the first Indian Railways train that charges two different prices for the same route traveled. For the last two years, train passengers have been dealing with fee inconsistencies, which the Railways began to implement once rail travel resumed normally after the COVID-19 epidemic.

“Paying twice as much for the same distance traveled is absurd. How are the Railways able to collect two distinct fares? Sukumar Rana, the head of the Jaleswar train users’ group, expressed regret, “We have brought up the issue with the railway officials numerous times, but nothing has been done to address the anomaly.”

According to SER authorities, travelers are still having problems with the fare anomaly as the ECoR has not yet completed the necessary modification. In order to make the train price reasonable during the Covid-19 epidemic, it was raised. The price from Kharagpur to Bhadrak is the regular old fare since we corrected the fares after COVID. ECoR has to make similar adjustments, according to a SER official.

However, ECoR officials said that the issue is being looked into. In response to passenger concerns, the railway board has received a request for modifications to the train tariff. According to a top source, “The board has not communicated with us yet.”