New Delhi, Dec 25 : Indian Railways has rationalised its passenger fare structure with effect from December 26, to balance affordability for passengers and sustainability of its operations, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement on Thursday.

The ministry clarified that under the revised fare structure, there is no change in fares for suburban services and season tickets, including both suburban and non-suburban routes.

For Ordinary Non-AC (Non-Suburban) services, fares have been rationalised in a graded manner across Second Class Ordinary, Sleeper Class Ordinary, and First Class Ordinary.

In Second Class Ordinary, there is no increase in fare for journeys up to 215 km, ensuring that short-distance and daily commuters are not impacted.

For distances from 216 km to 750 km, the fare increases by Rs 5. For longer journeys, the increase is applied in steps â?? Rs 10 for distances between 751 km and 1250 km, Rs 15 for distances between 1251 km and 1750 km, and Rs 20 for distances between 1751 km and 2250 km, the statement explained.

In Sleeper Class Ordinary and First Class Ordinary, fares have been revised uniformly at the rate of 1 paise per kilometre for non-suburban journeys, ensuring a gradual and limited increase in fares.

In Mail and Express trains, the fare increase has been rationalised at 2 paise per kilometre across Non-AC and AC classes. This includes Sleeper Class, First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier, and AC First Class. As an illustration, for a 500 km journey in non-AC Mail and Express coaches, passengers will pay only about Rs 10 extra, the statement further explains.

The existing basic fares of major train services, including Tejas Rajdhani, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Tejas, Mahamana, Gatimaan, Antyodaya, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, and Ordinary non-suburban services (excluding AC MEMU/DEMU, where applicable), have been revised in line with the approved class-wise basic fare increases. The revision has been carried out uniformly and in a calibrated manner across applicable classes, the statement said.

Notably, no changes have been made in reservation fees, superfast surcharges, or other ancillary charges, which will continue to be levied as per existing rules. GST applicability remains unchanged, and fares will continue to be rounded off according to prevailing norms, the statement pointed out.

The revised fares are applicable only on tickets booked on or after 26 December 2025. Tickets booked before this date will not attract any additional charges, even if the journey is undertaken after the effective date, the statement further explained.

The fare list displayed at stations will also be updated to reflect the new fares effective from December 26, the statement added.

/IANS