Mumbai: After AC local train fare, Railways to cut first-class prices too

Good news Mumbaikars, your single-journey tickets for both first-class and AC locals are set to become cheaper. Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve on Friday announced that single-journey fare of AC local trains would be slashed by 50 per cent. As the move would leave first-class tickets more expensive, the railways late in the night said they would cut the fare of first-class tickets to maintain balance. The revised fares for both AC and non-AC first-class will come into effect from May 5.

The fare revision will only be applicable to single-journey tickets and there will not be any changes in any of the season ticket fares of any local trains.

Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve (left) and former CM Devendra Fadnavis at the event to mark the restoration of Byculla station building on Friday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

"Fares of existing regular non-AC first class would also be soon brought down to balance with the AC fares so that they are less than the AC fare structure. Despite the 50 per cent cut in single-journey ticket fares announced today, AC local fares will still remain the highest among all classes on Mumbai local trains," a railway official said.

Asked about when the revised fares will be introduced, Danve told mid-day, "I have just announced it, and now I will go to Delhi to formalise it. The issue will be discussed and a notification will be issued soon." The minister was speaking at a public event to mark the restoration of Byculla station building on Friday afternoon.

While at present the minimum fare of regular first-class is R50, after reduction, the minimum AC fare will be around Rs 30.

"We need to wait and watch for the formal notification to be issued to have more clarity on the revised fare structures of single ticket journeys of both AC and non-AC first-class categories. The notification will have all the questions answered," a senior official said.

Asked about additional services of AC trains, Danve said the existing services on Central Railway needed adequate response before they think of adding more services.
He also confirmed that the Maharashtra government had stopped funding railway projects.

"The state has now realised the mistake and has started restoring funds. But the damage is already done and has created a backlog of a few years for all projects," BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

Byculla station restored

The restoration of the 125-year-old Byculla railway station, one of the five listed heritage stations in the city, is now complete. The project was initiated by I Love Mumbai Foundation with the support of Bajaj Trust Groups, and Abha Narian Lambah Associates as part of their CSR initiative with the guidance and cooperation from Central Railway.

The task of the entire planning and execution has been completed and they have restored the Byculla Railway Station to its original, ancient, heritage architecture
with excellence.

The project was to be completed in 18 months, but, due to the pandemic, it took three years.

50
Percentage of fare slashed as per Danve's announcement

Revised Fares

AC local
Distance Old fareb Revised fare
5km Rs 65 Rs 30
25km Rs 135 Rs65
50km Rs 205 Rs 100
100km Rs 290 Rs 145

Non-AC first-class
Distance Revised fare
10km Rs 23
15km Rs 32
25km Rs 50