Railways Offers 45 Per Cent Concession On Average To Every Person, No Separate Benefit For Seniors

Responding to questions raised by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi seeking reasons for not restoring senior citizen concessions in trains, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said in the Lok Sabha that every passenger travelling by Indian Railways receives an average concession of 45 per cent.

“Indian Railways gave subsidy of Rs 60,466 crore on passenger tickets in 2023-24. This amounts to concession of 45 per cent on an average, to every person, travelling on Railways,” Vaishnaw said in a written reply.

He added, “In other words, if the cost of providing service is Rs 100, then the price of the ticket is Rs 55 only. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers. Further, concessions beyond this subsidy amount are continuing for many categories like four categories of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans), 11 categories of patients and 8 categories of students.” Vaishnaw’s reply came in response to Gandhi’s question regarding “reasons for not restoring senior citizen concessions that were discontinued during the Covid pandemic despite full normalisation of passenger services”.

He also wanted to know the minister’s response on the 13 per cent decrease in the ridership in the Railways during the last 10 years while the population has increased by approximately 10 per cent during the same period.

Vaishnaw provided data on growth in passengers’ ridership in 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 and said that overall, the passenger patronage of Indian Railways is showing steady and rapid growth trend, with consistent increase recorded.

According to the data, 2022-23 recorded 82 per cent growth in passengers because the previous year 2021-22 was a Covid year. The growth in 2023-24 and 2024-25 were 8 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.

Talking about train fares, Vaishnaw said, “The fares of Indian Railways are among the lowest in comparison to other countries in the world." “There is no plan to implement dynamic fares in Vande Bharat Chair Car or Vande Bharat Sleeper trains,” he added.

Vaishnaw stated that Indian Railways is focused on providing affordable, good quality services to all sections of society and it has developed and introduced trains such as Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail and special trains.

“With a view to meet the demand of passengers travelling in unreserved coaches, Railways has significantly increased the facilities for passengers demanding general class travel,” he said.

“During the last financial year 2024-25 alone, 1,250 general coaches have been utilised in various long-distance trains. In the current financial year (up to December 2025), 767 coaches have been utilised for permanent augmentation,” he added.

According to Vaishnaw, to cater to the travel demand of the low and middle income families, Indian Railways has taken up manufacturing of 17,000 non-AC coaches (general/sleeper) over the next five years.