Railway passengers alert! Ticket fare for these trains to be hiked by up to Rs 50

Passengers travelling in long-distance trains powered by diesel engines may have to shell out extra in the near future. This extra amount will be added during booking ticket for train journeys from April 15, Zee News Hindi reported.

The Railways Board is planning to add either hydrocarbon surcharge (HCS) ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 50 or a Diesel Tax on tickets in trains powered by diesel engines. This will be levied on trains which travel more than half of their entire journeys powered by diesel locomotives. The tax is being made to diffuse the impact of fuel imports under pressure from the spike in global oil prices.

Increase up to Rs 50 expected

The new surcharge will reportedly amount to Rs 50 for AC class tickets while tickets in sleeper class in the train category will be costlier by Rs 25. General class tickets in such trains will see a Rs 10 hike. No such surcharge would be levied on suburban trail travel tickets.

The Railways Board has reported directed officials to identify such trains which travel 50-percent of their total journey distance pulled by diesel engines. The list of trains will be revised every three months. It is to be noted there has been no information if the surcharge will be levied on train tickets booked before April 15.

The global oil prices have skyrocketed to record-highs amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine as well as tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Despite India importing oil from Russia on discounted prices, the situation is still a concern. The prices of petrol and diesel in the country have touched record peaks with 12 hikes in 14 days.

The HCS surcharge is also linked to the Indian Railways’ ongoing electrification drive, the Zee News Hindi report said.

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On a mission to achieve ‘100% Electrification’ with ‘Net Zero Carbon Emission', the railways is electrifying its entire broad gauge network to provide environment friendly, green and clean transport to the public.