Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Railway Board has announced 25% cut in the fares of AC chair cars and executive class of all trains, including Vande Bharat Express. The Board has instructed the zones to initiate a discounted fare plan for trains that have had an occupancy rate of less than 50% in the past 30 days.
Following this announcement, the Bhopal and Ratlam railway divisions will conduct a one-month review of Vande Bharat Express, especially those operating from Indore to Bhopal and Rani Kamalapati to Jabalpur. The development comes after Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat received a lukewarm response since its commencement, with over 70% seats going vacant on almost every trip.
According to Dainik Bhaskar, the Board has stated that a discount of up to 25% will be applied to the fares of AC chair cars and executive class in all trains, including Vande Bharat Express.
The specific percentage of discount will be decided by the respective zones based on the occupancy rates.
Railway officials estimate that passengers of Vande Bharat Express may receive discounts ranging from 10% to 25%. However, the exact discount will be determined after the review of occupancy rates.
The Bhopal Railway Division will send a review report of the occupancy rates of the Shatabdi and Intercity trains within the next three days. Afterward, the zone will determine the percentage of discount for passengers of these two trains.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Bhopal Railway Division Rashmi Baghel, mentioned that they will review the occupancy rates of the AC chair cars and executive class, as instructed by the Board. The review report will be submitted to the zone, focusing on the trains with occupancy rates below 50%. Additionally, a review report of the Vande Bharat Express for the previous 30 days will be prepared.
