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  India   Rail may do away with first AC concession

Rail may do away with first AC concession

Published : Feb 6, 2016, 12:15 am IST
Updated : Feb 6, 2016, 12:15 am IST

The cash-strapped Railways is mulling to do away with concessions in First Class travel.

The cash-strapped Railways is mulling to do away with concessions in First Class travel. While there are 53 categories of concessions ranging from 75 to 30 per cent concession on train ticket, the Railways believes that there is no rationale to continue with relief on fare for first class travel.

“We have found in our study that mostly those who can claim concessions travel in first class, besides MPs/MLAs in whose cases Railways get reimbursed. But there are 53 different kinds of categories who claim concessions and travel in first class, which generally leave not enough berths for normal passengers. The Railways is seriously examining the issue to make First AC out-of-bound for those who can claim concessions,” said a senior Railway board member. Incidentally, the Railways lose out on Rs 1,400 crores each year due to various kinds of concessions given to cross-sections of society, including senior citizens, patients, freedom fighters and sportspersons, among others.

While the Railway board is currently examining the possibility to cut down the amount of concessions, which average about 50 per cent to 25, there is a sense that such an exercise can wait for some time and a beginning be made with doing away with concessions on first class travel. “Since only a few berths are available for first class in an express train, they are mostly grabbed by those who have been beneficiaries of concessions, which further gets crowded due to attendants too availing the benefits. Such people can travel with the same comforts in the second AC as well,” added the official.

The Railways, said the official, gives concessions in ticket fares to various kinds of people out of its social obligation but they can not be extended to first class, which should be seen in the category of luxury class. “Currently, there is not much of a business sense to add more berths in the first class due to them being claimed by concessions, but if it’s done away with there could be improvement in the number of such berths,” said the official.

With the finance ministry not willing to bail out the cash strapped Railways, there are moves afoot to cut down on social obligations, which have only been growing in the recent years.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi