Indian Railway is likely to restore ticket concession for senior citizens. Details here | So Good News

IRCTC latest news today: Here comes good news for pensioners who are frequent travelers by train. The Indian Railways could soon plan to restore the concessions for them. In addition, there may be some changes in the eligibility criteria for them to use this facility.Also Read – IRCTC Update: Indian Railways cancels over 80 trains on Chhath Puja. Check the full list here

According to media reports, the Indian Railway Board is planning to change the age limit for pensioners and also to limit the concession to only a few classes of tickets. Previously, the concession was available to pensioners across all classes, Read also – Over 4,000 trains hit cattle in 2022 alone, more than 22 strikes daily: Report

According to media reports, the railway board plans to offer the concession to pensioners who are 70 years of age or above for the general and sleeper classes. The railways said the idea is to offset the cost of these concessions while retaining the subsidy for pensioners. However, the terms and conditions have not been finalized yet. Also Read – IRCTC Update, October 29: Indian Railways cancels over 140 trains today. Checklist here

“We understand that these concessions help the senior citizens and we have never said that we should scrap them completely. We are considering it and will take a decision on it. The logic is that if we limit it to the sleeper and general classes, we cover 70 percent of the travelers. These are just some of the options we are considering and nothing is finalised,” a source told Zee News.

Prior to the outbreak of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, senior concessions were available to female passengers aged 58 and over and men aged 60 and over.

According to the scheme by the railways, women passengers could get a discount of 50 per cent, and men got a 40 per cent concession on the fare across all classes. After the outbreak of the pandemic, Indian Railways withdrew the subsidized fares.

However, Indian Railways is now planning to restore the Premium Tatkal scheme for all trains in the near future. This facility will help the railways to increase their earnings as well. The railways said that the scheme is applicable for around 80 trains across the country and a few seats are reserved in these 80 trains under this dynamic pricing category.