New Delhi, August 28: Trains with low occupancy may soon offer a discount of 25 percent. Shatabdi, Tejas, Intercity and some double-decker trains are likely to offer chair cars and executive seats at a discount of 25 percent, in an effort to see that they don't run empty seats. Indian Railways Earned In Excess of Rs 350 Crore From Sale of Platform Tickets, Ads And Shops in 2018-19, Says Minister Piyush Goyal.

According to the Times of India report, this discount will be available only on those trains which have low-occupancy and the decision to offer a discount will be taken by principal chief commercial managers of each railway zone. The discount will be offered only on the base fare.

Charges like GST, reservation fee, superfast tariff and others will be levied separately. By September 30, the Railway Board has asked all zones to identify such trains with low occupancy. It is to be noted that once the scheme is in place, no other discounts like Flexi fare or graded discount will be applicable.

While speaking in the Rajya Sabha last month, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that Rs 139.20 crore was earned from the sale of platform tickets in the year 2018-19. In addition to this, from advertisements and shops including those on the platforms, Rs 230.47 crore was earned in the period mentioned above. Goyal further mentioned that Indian Railways earned Rs 204.10 crore and Rs 223.53 crore during financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively from non-fare revenues.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2019 09:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).