Railways Flexi fare appears discriminatory: Parl Panel

New Delhi: Observing that Flexi/dynamic fares pricing, which was introduced by the Ministry of Railways in 2006, appears to be somewhat discriminatory as fares of premiums trains are already higher in comparison to other passengers trains, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, in its report, has suggested the government to review contentious Flexi/dynamic fare mechanism in the greater public interest.

The Parliamentary Committee has further observed that with an enhanced fare structure in place, passengers with modest income or financially disadvantaged rail users may not be able to afford these fares and may not opt for these trains.

Amid the uproar in the House, the report of the committee was tabled in the Lok Sabha by its chairman Radha Mohan Singh on Tuesday

Commenting on the ticketing mechanism of railways, the Committee has asked the ministry to put in place some mechanism in respective coaches so that passengers could 'approach straight and witness' the current status of seats/berth confirmation as it has come to the notice of the Committee that railways staff don't co-operate with passengers in addressing their grievances.

The Committee has also suggested the ministry to provide a fixed quota for Tatkal reservations at PRS counters so that passengers having no internet access and visiting PRS counters for the needful could book a ticket. "Such a step would let them avail the benefits of Tatkal ticket reservation in a more impartial manner," it said. The Panel has also recommended the ministry to review the criterion for granting concessions with a view to contain the amount of concessions granted. The Railways provides concessions to senior citizens, freedom fighters, presspersons, war widows, patients, etc as part of its Social Service Obligation initiative.

On railways' new software for booking tickets, the Committee has suggested the ministry to make out all efforts to make their ticketing system more robust and weed out inherent deficiencies that hinder the process of ticketing with the ultimate aim of passenger convenience and passenger satisfaction.