Indian Railways might very soon impose concessions for senior citizens again. However, there are going to be some eligibility criteria changes to get concession prices. To be exact, the age limit criteria will likely to get changed so that the right age citizens can avail most of the benefits of this facility. Moreover, the discounted prices will also be applicable on a few reservation classes only, which was earlier for all the available classes.
Indian Railways To Offer Discounted Prices To Senior Citizens Again
As per the reports, “the Railway Board is contemplating to offer the concession to the senior citizens who are 7 years old or above only for the general and sleeper classes. The idea is to offset the cost of these concessions while retaining the subsidy for senior citizens. However, the terms and conditions haven’t been finalized yet”, mentioned by news18.
“We understand that these concessions help the elderly and we never said we were going to scrap it completely. We are reviewing it and will make a decision on it. The logic is that if we limit it to the sleeper and general classes, we cover 70 per cent of travellers. These are just some of the options we are considering, and nothing has been finalized”, zee news quoted their source.
Till March 2020, the discounted prices were only applicable to women aged 58 and above, and men aged 60 and above. And as per the guidelines, women can avail of a discount of 50 per cent and men can avail of 40 per cent across all the reservation classes. But at the time of the COVID outbreak, Indian Railways unauthorized the discounts.
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“Indian Railways is also planning to introduce the Premium Tatkal scheme for all trains in the near future. This will help the railways to increase their earnings. At present, the scheme is only applicable to about 80 trains across the country. A few seats are reserved in these 80 trains under this category with dynamic pricing. This quota is for the convenience of last-minute travellers who can book tickets by paying a little extra. The Premium Tatkal fare includes the additional Tatkal charge along with the basic ticket fare”, mentioned News18.
