Train travel rates to get costlier as Railway Board approves special levy fee in range of Rs 10-Rs 50
For example, if a passenger books a ticket from New Delhi to Mumbai, then the ticket price would include the user fee of both stations. However, if a passenger books a ticket from a smaller station to New Delhi or Mumbai, then the user fee would be 50% of the normal charge.
FollowThe Railway Board is likely to cost more for passengers traveling in long-distance train, boarding or alighting at redeveloped stations by levying a station development fee ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 50 depending on the class of travel. The Railway Board has recently approved the Station Development Fee (SDF) or user fee ranging between Rs 10 and Rs 50 for boarding trains from stations that have been redeveloped or will be redeveloped in the near future.
According to the notification that has been approved by the Railway Board, the Station Development units of Zonal Railways will intimate the commercial units for stations developed or redeveloped with specific dates from which the SDF will be levied and this must be done 120 days in advance
The user fee would be in three categories. Rs 50 for all AC classes, Rs 25 for sleeper class and Rs 10 for the unreserved class. Not just the levy of the additional charges, the Platform Tickets for these redeveloped stations will get costlier by Rs 10.
No station development fee will be charged for suburban train journeys, according to a circular issued by the Railway Board.
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For example, if a passenger books a ticket from New Delhi to Mumbai, then the ticket price would include the user fee of both stations. However, if a passenger books a ticket from a smaller station to New Delhi or Mumbai, then the user fee would be 50% of the normal charge.
Sources said to begin with the railways may roll out the user fee regime at 50 stations.
“Station Development Fee (SDF) shall be collected from the passengers (boarding as well as alighting at such stations). Class-wise SDF for developed/redeveloped stations shall be charged as under: For alighting passengers at such stations, the SDF shall be 50 per cent of the rates indicated above. If both boarding/alighting such stations, in that case, SDF shall be 1.5 times of the applicable rate,” the circular stated.
The Railway Board notified the new regime on December 31, which will be an assured source of revenue for the private players who will develop these stations and the ministry hopes this will encourage more private players to bid for these projects. In the case of public funded projects, the revenue will come to the railways.
