Discounted fares likely soon for trains not fully booked

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that the railways could soon start offering discounts on tickets if trains were not fully booked. This comes days after the Railway Board formed a six-member committee to review the flexi-fare scheme with a view to completely revamping it.

Speaking at a day-long conclave of senior officials in New Delhi, the minister said that the railways authorities are studying the model of dynamic pricing offered by the airlines and hotels, according to PTI.

 ''We have been deliberating on a dynamic pricing policy. So far we have been discussing that the price should not go up but I want to go a step ahead. I am exploring a possibility where suppose trains are not going full, like in airlines we get discounted fares,'' he said.

Giving the example of hotels, he said, ''First the prices are low … then the prices go high and then later you get discounts on the remaining rooms through Bookmyhotel or other websites.

 ''Just like the airlines and hotels where a person gets discount at that last minute, the railways should also offer discounts on the routes with relatively low occupancy.''

Set up on 11 December, the six-member committee of the Railway Board has been asked to recommend ways to offer a more lucrative scheme which may include loyalty points and other benefits to passengers.

The panel has also been asked to consider modifications or amendments to the the flexi-fare scheme to for of rates during peak season, lean season or during weekdays, weekends or festivals.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within 30 days.

According to PTI, the flexi-fare scheme that was launched in September 2016 had led to up to 50 per cent increase in fares. Under the formula, base fares increased from 10 per cent to 50 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths booked.

An official said that even though the revenue of the railways increased after the launch of the flexi-fare scheme, it has lost many passengers as berths remained vacant.

In the coming year, plans are being made to maximise utilisation of assets, said Goyal. ''In the airlines, we see the maintenance of an aircraft is completed within 30 minutes and it is made ready to go for another journey. In the same way, the railway rakes should be utilised to full capacity.

''It is a saying that one should be able to sweat one's assets. Right now a Rajdhani Express train from Delhi to Mumbai stays at the station for maintenance. It can be maintained and cleaned by 22 teams in 30 minutes and again made fit to go on a journey of two or three hours, beside its original return journey. It can be utilised for a small trip in that time.

''Going ahead I would want that the trip between Delhi and Mumbai be completed in 11 hours and half-an-hour on each side goes in maintenance. So a round trip would become possible.''

He said that the railways was already trying out an experiment on the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani by using two engines, and suggested that the train should depart from Delhi at 5 pm instead of 4 pm, allowing people one more hour in a working day.

''It should reach Mumbai by 7 am instead of 6 am in the morning, allowing people to sleep for an additional hour,'' he added.