By Gitika Sharma
Indian Railways announced a new passenger fare structure on 26 December 2025, a timely action to protect the financial viability of railway operations and passenger affordability. Announced on Thursday by the Ministry of Railways, the move would mark the second fare revision for passengers for FY2025–26, a timeframe during which operating costs are expected to rise and demand for the national transporter is anticipated to increase.
Under the new arrangement, fare increases are a regulated and staged process, so that they don’t hurt regular commuters and short-distance travelers. Furthermore, the suburban train services (local trains and season tickets on non-suburban and suburban routes) remain unchanged, to protect the interests of regular commuters who rely on trains for their vital everyday commute. And the occasional trip of not more than 215 kilometres has been exempted from the price increase.
A general fare revision has been introduced in a graduated order for greater distances. For the standard non-AC services, the extra ₹5 is charged to passengers ranging from 216 km to 750 km, and ₹10 is applied for passengers traveling from 751 km to 1,250 km. For trips to and from 1,251 km and 1,750 km, respectively, the increase will be ₹15; for trips from 1,751 km and 2,250 km, the increase is ₹20.
In Mail and Express trains, both non-AC and AC classes have revised their fares by 2 paise per kilometre. Sleeper Class, First Class, AC Chair Car, AC 3-Tier, AC 2-Tier, and AC First Class will be subject to this alteration. For a 500-km journey on a non-AC Mail or Express coach, this translates to roughly ₹10 additional, indicating a small increase for long-haul customers, the ministry said.
The rationalised fare model also allows premium and other services (Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Tejas, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, Antyodaya, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail). Crucially, the fare change will not impact reservation prices, superfast surcharges, GST effect, or any other ancillary charges, which will not be changed.
According to the ministry, the new fares will only apply to tickets booked on or after December 26, 2025, and for those purchased before this date, will also not affect the same fee, regardless of whether the travel time is planned from December 26, 2025. Railway authorities have recently reiterated to the public that the revision is a strategic step to protect regular commuters and short-distance travel, while allowing Indian Railways to adjust to rising costs and maintain the extensive network the company has, carrying hundreds of millions of people on a daily basis.