An RTI response from the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) has revealed that Indian Railways has earned an additional revenue of more than INR 2,800 crore from child travellers in the last seven years, all by revising child travel fare norms. It also shows that in the financial year 2022-23 alone, it earned INR 560 crore owing to the amended norms, making it the most profitable year.
The CRIS is an organisation under the Ministry of Railways providing IT solutions across areas such as ticketing and passengers, train traffic control and operations, and freight services, among others.
The ministry announced in March 2016 that the railways would charge a full adult fare for children aged five to 12 if they require a separate berth or seat in the reserved coach. Before this rule was implemented from April 2016, the railways offered separate berths to the age group in only half the fare.
While they can still be allowed in the revised norm at half the fare, they are not offered separate berths or seats. Instead, they are only allowed to be accommodated with the adult traveller accompanying them.
The CRIS has provided year-wise tabular data from the financial year of 2016-17 to 2022-23 for two categories of children based on their fare options. The data reveals that in that time frame, 3.6 crore children have travelled without opting for a reserved seat or coach and paid only half the fare, while over 10 crore children have travelled in a separate berth or seat.
According to Chandra Shekhar Gaur, who filed an RTI request, the response indicates that approximately 70 per cent of children who travel by railways prefer to pay the full fare and have their own berth or seat. Gaur expressed that sharing a berth or seat during a long-distance journey can be difficult for both the child and the adult. He further commented that the revised norms have greatly benefited the railways. The data also reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted profits, with the year 2020-21 only earning INR 157 crore, making it the least profitable year.
(With inputs from PTI)
