Train fares to increase from 21/01/2013

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/rai...CC_06_2013.pdf

We travelled Delhi to Kolkata on 22nd . The additional fare due was listed on the charts pasted at the coach door. It cost me 150 rupees which is what I expected but only 25 for Madame?

The TTE seemed very releved not to have to explain why he was asking for money.

Is that a question Dave? You must be aware of the senior citizen discount. The age criteria is different for males and females.

Aarosh

It is a question. Senior ladies get 50% discount. I expected that she would be charged 75.

what you need to check is the before/after fares for each category. the changes may not be uniform...

for example:
3A in SF for BBS-HWH as increased as
Adult: 544 to 610 (66 or 12%)
SrCtznM: 361 to 390 (29 or 8%)
SrCtznW: 315 to 335 (20 or 6%)

That was for a trip of 1463 km.

Today we went from Sealdah to Bandel - 47km in chair Class and I paid 56 rupees additional with a charge of 14 for Madame.

This seems to be a very big increase on a tickrt that originally cost 280.

I noticed this morning that the Indian railways official site lists the additional fare payable when you check your PNR number

http://www.indianrail.gov.in/pnr_Enq.html

And to add to the file "Let's Keep 'Em Honest", if you ask for a receipt when they demand the additional fee, you'll make them grumpy, but they will give you one. My additional fee was roughly 1% of the original 3AC cost yesterday.

And yes, this was on a ticket booked prior to the rate increase.

So far I haven't had to ask for a receipt. The TTEs just seem pleased that they don't have to explain why they are asking for money. Oddly we had no surchage to pay today on the Nilgiri line. Tickets were bought 120 days ago. Another British couple travelling in the seats next to us did have to pay. Work that one out.

Something can go wrong in India? Surely you jest.

that's weird! does your pnr status indicate that no additional fare is payable?

Yesterday morning on the Jaipur-Delhi double decker express, the TTEs were happily distributing receipts without being asked. Their only gripe with this fare increase is they have to handle pocketfuls of cash (there are over 1500 chair car seats on the train - runs about half to three fourths full)

i have not met a TTE recently (or even in the distant past) who did not want to hand over the receipt for fare increase. in fact if you don't have it, you could be asked to pay the difference by any next checker...
of course asking for a receipt in other instances does make them grumpy

Is there no one but me that thinks that a retroactive fare increase is a little, umm, un-businesslike?

I'd argue the "happily" on the receipt. Begrudgingly, was my experience.

I didn't check the PNR as we were on an overnight train from Chennai and I knew which seats we had been allocated. On the charts there was nothing against our names but on the other couple's there was 5 rupees listed against each of them.

On the Chennai - Mettupalayam train I was charged 55 rupees and Madame W nil. The TTE said that he was surprised by that but the figure on the chart was what he had to go on.

If Indian Railways had been run in a business like manner the fares would have gone up years ago.