Railways slash service charges on e-tickets

The Railways have slashed service charges levied on purchase of e-tickets by half from April 1.

As per the revised plan, service charge levied on purchase of e-tickets in AC classes has been slashed from Rs 40 to Rs 20.

Likewise, service charges levied on purchase of e-tickers for sleeper class has been reduced from Rs 15 to Rs 10, official sources said.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced in her Budget speech the PSU's intention of slashing the service charges on purchase of e-tickets.

IRCTC, a Railway PSU, offers the e-ticketing facility to passengers through its portal. Between 2.5 to three lakh e-tickers are booked through this website.

Figures reveal that 30 per cent of all tickets booked in Indian Railways today are e-tickets, reflecting the popularity of this service.

IRCTC, however, expects a drop of about 30 per cent in its earnings from sale of e-tickets following the slashing of service charges.

Sources contended while this could be a setback for the organisation, it would still stand to gain in the long run as more and more people would avail e-ticketing facilities after reduction in its service charges.

The organisation is also targeting to reach out to the rural populace in a big way. Earlier, Railways had also revised the tariff plan under its tatkal scheme to make it more popular among the passengers.

The booking days under the scheme was also reduced from five to two days. At present, it is also focusing on popularising its Mushkil Asaan scheme mobile ticketing service.