Indian Railways Revises Passenger Fares From Dec 26: Key Details

The Ministry of Railways announced a revision in passenger fares on December 21, aims to balance rising operational and manpower costs, which will come into effect from December 26, 2025.

The Ministry said there will be no increase in fares for suburban train services and Monthly Season Ticket holders, providing relief to daily commuters. The ordinary-class journeys of more than 215 kilometres will see a fare hike of 1 paise per kilometre.

The Railways has increased fares for Mail and Express trains in non-AC categories by two paise per kilometre, with a similar hike applying to AC classes. Under the revised fare structure, a 500-kilometre journey in a non-AC coach will cost passengers an additional ₹10.

The fare rationalisation is expected to generate around ₹600 crore in additional revenue for the Railways this year. Earlier, fares were also hiked in July, when non-AC Mail and Express fares were raised by 1 paise per kilometre and AC fares by 2 paise per kilometre—the first increase since January 2020.

The Railways said manpower-related expenditure has risen sharply to nearly ₹1.15 lakh crore. Pension expenditure has also increased significantly, touching ₹60,000 crore, while the total operating cost for 2024–25 is estimated at ₹2.63 lakh crore.

The Congress accused the Centre of "surreptitiously" raising railway fares and said instead of allocating greater funds from the Union Budget, the government is now trying to "squeeze the already-suffering" poor, according to PIT.