Ashwini Vaishnaw said every passenger gets a concession on rail tickets (File)
Every passenger gets a 55 per cent concession on train journeys, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said regarding demands to restore pre-Covid fare concessions for senior citizens and media persons.
Without giving any direct reply to questions by journalists on the restoration of concessions, Mr Vaishnaw said, "The Indian Railway is already offering 55 per cent concession on train fares to every passenger.”
The Minister was in Ahmedabad to review the progress of the ongoing bullet train project among other things.
Before the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, the Railways offered a 50 per cent concession on train fares to senior citizens and government-accredited journalists.
Railway operations were completely shut down during the lockdown but after its full-fledged resumption in June 2022, the Railway Ministry didn't restore these concessions. Since then, the issue has been raised on various platforms, including in both Houses of parliament.
Mr Vaishnaw maintained a similar stand in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on various occasions when questioned by fellow parliamentarians.
On Thursday, when journalists raised it during a press briefing in Ahmedabad, Mr Vaishnaw said, “If a train ticket to a destination costs Rs 100, the Railways is charging only Rs 45. It is giving a concession of Rs 55.”
Earlier, responding to an RTI application filed by Madhya Pradesh-based Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the Indian Railways said that it earned about Rs 2,242 crore from approximately 15 crore senior citizens in the financial year 2022-23.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)