Travel on Indian Railways will cost a little more if newly proposed fare increases take place. Passengers traveling by AC 2 tier and AC 1 will bear the brunt of the fare hikes announced by Railway Minister Shri Dinesh Trivedi.

The official Ministry of Railways press release proposes only 2 paise per km extra for suburban and ordinary second class travel. Similarly, increase for mail express second class will be by only 3 paisa per km; for sleeper class only 5 paisa per km; for AC chair car, AC 3 tier & First Class by only 10 paise per km; AC 2 Tier by only 15 paise per km; and AC I by only 30 paise per km.

The proposed increase in fares translates into the following. For suburban second class passengers traveling 35 km will be only Rs.2. For non-suburban second class ordinary passenger traveling a distance of 135 km, increase will be Rs.4 only. For second class mail/express passenger traveling a distance of 375 km, the addition to the fare will be only Rs.12 and that for a 750 km journey by sleeper class on mail/express train will be only Rs.40. An AC 3 tier passenger traveling a distance of 530 km will be required to pay an additional Rs.57. The increase for AC 2 tier and AC I passenger traveling over same distance will be Rs.84 and Rs.163 respectively.

Shri Dinesh Trivedi added the additional revenue would not even cover the impact of increase in fuel prices during last 8 years, and that “valuable passengers of Indian Railways” have been insulated from the burden of increase in the staff costs.

He further said it was not possible for Indian Railways to keep India cushioned from the impact of input cost increases in future.

UPDATE 3/23/12

Most of the proposed rail fares increases have been recalled by new Railway Minister Mukul Roy. Passenger fares for all classes including suburban trains will remain the same except AC 2 tier and First Class. Find more on the reversal and financial impact to the railways at Times of India.