They demand a 50 percent discount on train tickets
Indian Railways is considered to be the heart of the country. Thousands of people travel by train every day. In such a situation, the special focus of the Central Government will be on the Railways. According to sources, the Central Government may increase the allocation for Railways. In such a situation, it is expected that the government may provide a big relief to senior citizens in this budget. For this purpose, the 50 percent discount given to them on railway tickets may be restored.
Before Covid, as per government rules, senior men used to get up to 40 per cent concession on train tickets, while senior women used to get 50 per cent concession on tickets. Till late 2019, IRCTC used to offer concessionary fares to male passengers aged 60 years and above and female passengers aged 58 years and above on train tickets of Duronto, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Mail and Express trains. For example, if the first AC ticket of Rajdhani train is priced at Rs 4,000, for senior citizens it used to cost only Rs 2,000 or Rs 2,300.
Discounts closed during the Covid period
The discount given by IRCTC to senior citizens on booking train tickets was suspended during the Covid period. Since late 2019, the railway services were at a standstill due to the Covid pandemic that was spreading across the world. They were later restored but due to less number of passenger journeys, the railways suffered huge losses. In such a situation, in order to meet the expenses, the Central Government had abolished this special concession.
What is the demand of citizens?
Dinesh Sahu, a resident of Jaunpur, says that his son lives in Delhi. To meet him, he travels by train every two to four months. They were earlier quite comfortable with the discount on train tickets offered by the government, but after Covid, this possibility was suspended. As a result, he now has to spend more money to go to his son’s home. In this situation, they want the government to help all senior citizens like them in the general budget to be presented on July 23 and restore the 50 per cent discount on tickets.
