Indian Railways’ 5 senior citizen benefits you should know

Indian Railways announces various concessions for the convenience of passengers. According to Indian Railways rules, men over 60 and women over 58 fall under the senior citizen category. They used to get concessions on fares in all train classes applicable in Mail, Express, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, and Duronto trains. Senior citizen men were given a 40% discount, and women were given a 50% discount.

However, this discount was discontinued during the COVID period. No confirmed information has been released about when this discount will be resumed. Well, let's see in this post about some of the concessions offered by Indian Railways to senior citizens. 

1. Getting a Lower Berth

There are two types of train coaches in Indian Railways: reserved and unreserved. When senior citizens purchase reserved tickets, they are provided with lower berth beds on a priority basis. Similarly, women over 45 are also automatically allocated lower berths. This priority will vary depending on the availability of seats.

2. Berths for Senior Citizens

Reserved coaches in Indian Railways trains have special arrangements where some berths are reserved for senior citizens. In sleeper coaches, 6 lower berths in each coach are reserved for senior citizens. In AC 3-tier and AC 2-tier, three lower berths are reserved for such persons. Apart from this, women above 45 years of age and pregnant women can also be accommodated in this berth. More berths are reserved for senior citizens in fully AC trains like Rajdhani and Duronto than in ordinary mail and express trains.

3. Reservations in Local Trains

Railway suburban or local trains are popular in some cities of the country. For example, suburban trains operate in cities including Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Central Railway and Western Railway operate local trains in Mumbai. Some seats are reserved for senior citizens in the local trains of these two zonal railways. Only a few coaches in these trains are reserved for women. Senior citizen women are also accommodated in the same coaches.

4. Wheelchairs at Railway Stations

Most major stations in the country have wheelchairs for senior citizens. You can ask for a wheelchair from the station master or station manager of the concerned station. He will provide you with a wheelchair along with a porter. However, you have to pay the porter. You can also book online. For this, you can log in to www.irctc.co.in.

5. Lower Berth can also be obtained on trains

If a senior citizen fails to get a lower berth during train reservation, they can get a lower berth during the journey. As per railway rules, after the train departs, if the lower berth is vacant, senior citizens with middle or upper berths can approach the TTE. They can request the TTE for a lower berth, and he will provide the lower berth after completing some procedures.