During the Corona epidemic, Railways had stopped many types of discounts available to passengers. These also include discounts on train tickets for senior citizens. Now a question was asked in the Parliament regarding this matter, to which the Railway Ministry has also given a clear answer.
In the Lok Sabha, a question was asked to the Railway Ministry that earlier the senior citizens of the country used to get discount on the price of train tickets, which has been discontinued. Is there any consideration being given to giving back this exemption or has any decision been taken?
In response to this question, the Railway Ministry said that at present exemption is being given to four categories of disabled, 11 categories of patients and 8 categories of students in the country. In the year 2022-23, Rs 56,993 crore has been spent by the Railway Ministry as subsidy on all passengers traveling in trains. Giving an example, the Railway Ministry said that if the Railways provides a facility of Rs 100 to a passenger, then it charges that passenger 46 per cent less ticket price i.e. only Rs 54. In this regard, Railways is already giving a discount of Rs 46 to the passengers on a ticket of Rs 100.
According to the Railway Ministry, the effort of Railways is to increase the facilities provided to senior citizens. In such a situation, efforts are being made to give lower seats to senior citizens, so that their journey can be easier.
It is noteworthy that during the Corona period, the discount given to senior citizens on train tickets was stopped. After the end of the Corona epidemic, there is a continuous demand that the discount given on ticket price to senior citizens should be restarted. At present, the situation before Corona has not been restored yet. Looking at the reply of the Railway Ministry, it seems that senior citizens are not going to get any relaxation in the coming days.
