Railway Travel Gets Costlier Again: Indian Railways Implements Second Fare Hike of 2025 from December 26

Rail Travel Gets Pricier Again: Long-Distance Passengers Hit, Daily Commuters Spared.

Indian Railways has officially implemented a revised passenger fare structure with effect from Friday, December 26, 2025, marking the second increase in train fares this year after a similar revision in July, as part of a broader “rationalisation” exercise aimed at balancing rising operational costs with passenger affordability. Under the new structure, Ordinary Class (non-suburban) passengers will see a marginal increase of 1 paisa per kilometre for journeys exceeding 215 kilometres, while Mail and Express trains in non-AC categories, along with all air-conditioned classes ranging from AC Sleeper to First AC, will witness a hike of 2 paisa per kilometre, translating into an additional cost of around Rs.10 for a 500-km journey, approximately Rs.28 for Delhi–Mumbai travel, and nearly Rs.44 for Delhi–Chennai routes.

The Railways has, however, insulated daily commuters and short-distance travellers from the revision, with no change in fares for suburban services, Monthly Season Tickets, Ordinary Class journeys below 215 km, and AC MEMU/DEMU services. The revised fares apply only to tickets booked on or after December 26, meaning passengers who booked earlier will not be required to pay any fare difference, while tickets issued by TTEs on trains starting today will be charged at the new rates; importantly, reservation fees, superfast surcharges and GST remain unchanged as the hike affects only the base fare component.

The fare revision covers all major train services, including Vande Bharat, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Humsafar and Amrit Bharat trains. Railway officials said the decision was necessitated by a sharp rise in operating expenditure, which has climbed to Rs.2.63 lakh crore for 2024–25, with manpower costs alone accounting for Rs.1.15 lakh crore and pension liabilities touching Rs.60,000 crore, adding that the modest increase is expected to generate around Rs.600 crore in additional revenue to support safety upgrades, infrastructure expansion and service sustainability across the national rail network.