Passengers can now look forward to cheaper fares as Indian Railways will soon launch an online auction of train tickets.
"We plan to launch online auction of train tickets and the modalities are being worked out," said a senior Railways ministry official and added, "Only sleeper and AC class tickets will be available for online auction."
Referred to as 'instant ticketing on discounted rate', the online bidding for train tickets is expected to bring down its prices.
According to the proposal, the base price of the AC-I ticket will be offered at a price equal to AC-2 class fare of that particular train.
Similarly, the reserve price for AC-2 class ticket will be equal to the AC-3-tier fare and sleeper class rate will be applicable for AC-3 fare.
To begin with, only 10 to 20 per cent seats on selected trains are likely to be offered for bidding on the Internet.
The auction is expected to open 48 hours before the departure time and closed two hours before the scheduled departure.
However, the scheme will not be applicable to 514 pairs of trains categorised as popular trains.
All Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains except Ajmer Shatabdi and Chennai-Bangalore Shatabdi Express are also exempted from the scheme.