Rail fare hike kicks in: How much more you'll pay today

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : The new railway passenger fare structure came into effect on Friday. Under this, fares for journeys outside suburban areas in Sleeper, First Class and Ordinary classes have been increased by one paisa per kilometer. According to the Railway Ministry, this move is aimed at balancing affordability with sustainability. The Railways has graded fares for Second Class Ordinary, Sleeper Class Ordinary and First Class Ordinary for ordinary non-AC (non-suburban) services. Second Class Ordinary fares will remain unchanged for journeys up to 215 kilometers, so there will be no impact on short-distance and daily commuters.

Fares have been increased by ₹5 for distances between 216 km and 750 km. ₹10 for distances between 751 km and 1,250 km. ₹15 for distances between 1,251 km and 1,750 km, and ₹20 for distances between 1,751 km and 2,250 km.

The ministry said there will be no impact on suburban services and season tickets, including those on suburban and non-suburban routes. There will be a marginal increase of 2 paise per kilometre in non-AC and AC classes of mail and express trains, including sleeper, first class, AC chair car, AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier and AC first class.

For longer journeys, such as a 500-km non-AC mail or express journey, the fare will be around Rs 10 more, the statement said. The existing basic fares of major train services including Tejas Rajdhani, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Tejas, Mahamana, Gatiman, Antyodaya, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail and general non-suburban services (except S MEMU, where applicable) have been revised in line with the approved class-wise basic fare hike.

There are no changes to reservation fees, superfast surcharges, and other charges, while GST validity will not be affected, and fares will continue to be rounded off as per existing rules. The revised fares will be applicable only to tickets booked on or after December 26, 2025, and there will be no additional charge on already booked tickets. The ministry said station fare lists will be updated to reflect the new rates.