Congress attacks ‘surreptitious’ rail fare hike, demands rollback

The Congress on Sunday launched a blistering attack on the Centre, accusing it of quietly slipping in a railway fare hike that, it said, would further burden an already distressed population.

The Opposition charged the government with attempting to “squeeze the already-suffering poor” rather than providing relief through enhanced budgetary support.

The railway ministry earlier in the day announced a marginal but wide-ranging increase in ticket prices, set to take effect from 26 December 2025. Under the revised fares, ordinary class passengers travelling beyond 215 km will pay an additional 1 paise per kilometre, while non-AC classes of mail and express trains and AC classes across all trains will see a hike of 2 paise per kilometre.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal described the move as yet another blow to the poor and middle classes, alleging that the government had “surreptitiously” raised fares to avoid public scrutiny. In a sharp post on X, Venugopal said ordinary passengers under the Modi government had been forced into a “hell-ride”, marked by overcrowded coaches, stampedes at stations and a glaring absence of basic facilities.

He further claimed that rail travel had become increasingly unsafe, with accidents threatening passengers’ lives almost every month. The scrapping of concessions for senior citizens, he said, had left the most vulnerable sections of society to fend for themselves.

“Instead of allocating greater funds from the Union Budget, the government is now trying to squeeze the already suffering poor of our country,” Venugopal said, adding that the Centre lacked the courage to announce the fare hike while Parliament was in session, fully aware it would trigger widespread opposition.

Demanding an immediate rollback, he said the increase must be scrapped to ensure passengers are not forced to shoulder higher fares.

Railway officials, however, said the hike would generate an estimated Rs 600 crore in additional revenue for the national transporter till 31 March 2026. They clarified that monthly season tickets for suburban trains remain untouched, as does ordinary class travel for journeys up to 215 km.

The ministry also noted that the previous fare revision in July 2025 has already yielded Rs 700 crore in revenue so far.

With PTI inputs