Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi sought to know whether or not the Union Government railway ticket fares had been categorised as a “trade secret” owing to what he stated was a rejection of Right to Information (RTI) purposes on the topic
In a query in the Lok Sabha, Mr Owaisi requested the Ministry of Railways whether or not such a categorisation existed and, in that case, the explanations for it regardless of the Railways being a public sector enterprise funded by taxpayers. He additionally sought particulars on how the federal government reconciles such a stance with Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, 2005, which exempts solely business confidence relating to non-public events.
The Hyderabad parliamentarian additional requested about steps taken to make sure transparency in railway operations and fare dedication, and sought a timeline for public disclosure of the bottom fare formulation, together with dynamic pricing, to allow parliamentary oversight of the pricing coverage.
Responding in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated the Ministry of Railways doesn’t contemplate ticket fares to be a commerce secret. He stated that info associated to fares for all classes of passenger providers is broadly revealed and out there in the general public area.
The Indian Railways offered a subsidy of ₹60,239 crore on passenger tickets in 2024-25, amounting to a median concession of 43% for each passenger. “In other words, if the cost of providing service is ₹100, then the price of ticket is ₹57 only. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers,” the reply said.
The authorities additionally stated that to make sure transparency, particulars of assorted elements of passenger fares comparable to base fare, reservation costs, superfast costs and GST are displayed on passenger tickets and revealed in fare tables in each bodily and digital codecs. These can be found by way of computerised ticketing programs, together with the Passenger Reservation System and the Unreserved Ticketing System, in addition to cellular purposes comparable to RailOne.
The Minister added that info on fare rationalisation or revisions is broadly revealed occasionally, and that RTI purposes on the topic are examined on a case by case foundation in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005
