Some good news for Indian Railway passengers. The Indian Railways has decided to do away with the flexi-fare, also called as dynamic pricing on 40 trains. This would mean that around one third of the premium trains covered under the scheme would now be exempt from the dynamic pricing scheme.

The dynamic pricing at times made the train tickets costlier than airplane tickets, as a result discouraging passengers from travelling in trains. The dynamic pricing scheme is applicable to premium Express trains, tickets of which are already costlier than other express trains.

The flexi-fare or dynamic pricing was introduced for 142 trains, applicable to over 44 Rajdhani, 46 Shatabdi and 52 Duronto trains. The dynamic pricing scheme was introduced in September 9, 2016.

Another change that has been introduced in the dynamic pricing scheme is that for the remaining 102 trains under the scheme, the railways will offer up to 50 per cent discount on 'last-minute' ticket bookings.

This last-minute discount will be available to passengers for seats available up to four days before the date of journey. A graded discount system will also be provided on tickets of trains that see less than 60 per cent booking, said a report in The Times of India. Railways Launches ‘Plan Bee’ to Save Elephants From Being Hit by Speeding Trains; All You Need to Know About the New Initiative.

In other news related to Indian Railways, the national carrier launched launched "Plan Bee", in a bid to keep elephants at a distance from railway tracks. This initiative is to help stop elephants from being hit by trains. Under the initiative, a device has been installed near the railway tracks in Guwahati, which mimics the humming of a swarm of bees to keep elephants off the tracks to avert accidents.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 14, 2018 11:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).