Indian Railways Fare Hike Effective July 1: Who’s Affected and What’s Changing

First fare revision in five years will impact long-distance second class, sleeper, and AC train passengers; short-distance travelers remain unaffected.

New Delhi, June 30, 2025 –Starting July 1, the Indian Railways will implement a nationwide fare hike for long-distance passengers, marking the first such revision since 2020. The updated fare structure impacts second class, sleeper, and air-conditioned classes across various services, including premium trains.

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According to the Ministry of Railways, the adjustments are aimed at enhancing service quality and ensuring sustainable operations, while keeping fares unchanged for short-distance and lower-income travelers.

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🚆 Revised Fare Details:

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Second Class (Unreserved):

• No fare hike for journeys up to 500 km.
• Rs 5 for 501–1500 km
• Rs 10 for 1501–2500 km
• Rs 15 for 2501–3000 km
• Mail/Express trains: 1 paisa/km increase

Sleeper and First Class:

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• Long-distance trains: 0.5 paisa/km increase
• Mail/Express trains: 1 paisa/km increase

AC Classes (Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier, Executive):

• 2 paise/km fare hike across services

Premium Trains Affected:

The revised fares apply to Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Tejas, Humsafar and other special category trains. However, reservation fees, superfast charges, and GST remain unchanged.

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🔒 New Rules for Tatkal Tickets:

Along with the fare hike, the Railways is introducing stricter Tatkal ticketing norms:

• From July 1: Only Aadhaar-verified users can book Tatkal tickets on IRCTC.
• From July 15: OTP-based Aadhaar authentication becomes mandatory for Tatkal bookings.

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🎯 Why the Hike?

Railways officials state that the marginal fare increases are necessary to cope with rising input costs and to sustain modernization efforts. Ancillary charges and fare rounding-off practices remain unchanged.

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