New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that special trains with reserved accommodation are operated at comparatively higher fares than regular scheduled trains.
Vaishnaw’s written response came in reply to Congress MP Sanjana Jatav’s questions regarding the fare structure of special trains, including the criteria adopted for fixing their fares.
She also sought to know the number of trains converted from special to regular services during the last three years and whether the fare of the Hanumangarh–Jaipur train is higher than that of other regular trains operating on the same route.
Vaishnaw said that Indian Railways constantly endeavours to cater to the growing needs of passengers. To achieve this, new services are introduced, existing train services are extended, their frequency is increased, and the number of coaches in existing trains is augmented.
“Besides, augmentation of loads of existing train services is also undertaken. These are ongoing processes, subject to operational feasibility, resource availability, competing demands etc,” Vaishnaw stated.
“Moreover, to cater to the extra rush of passengers during peak seasons, festivals, special events, etc. Indian Railways also operates special trains and undertakes their regularisation keeping in view the pattern of traffic, commercial justification, operational feasibility and availability of resources etc,” he added.
“Accordingly, during 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27(upto June, 2026), Indian Railways have regularised 245 train services including 04705/04706 Hanumangarh-Jaipur Special,” he informed.
According to the Railway Minister, Train Nos. 04705/04706 Hanumangarh–Jaipur Special were converted into the regular service 14709/14710 Hanumangarh–Jaipur Express with effect from June 1, 2026, and its fare is the same as that of a Mail/Express train.
Speaking about fares, he said that the fare for fully second-class unreserved special trains is the same as that of regular second-class unreserved scheduled trains.
“However, special trains with reserved accommodation run at comparatively higher fares than regular scheduled trains,” Vaishnaw said.
Vaishnaw also highlighted passenger concessions, stating that Indian Railways provided subsidies worth Rs. 60,239 crore on passenger tickets during 2024-25. PTI JP JP NB NB
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