Owaisi questions transparency in Indian Railways ticket-pricing policies

Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi sought to know whether the Union Government railway ticket fares had been categorised as a “trade secret” owing to what he said was a rejection of Right to Information (RTI) applications on the subject

In a question in the Lok Sabha, Mr Owaisi asked the Ministry of Railways whether such a categorisation existed and, if so, the reasons for it despite the Railways being a public sector enterprise funded by taxpayers. He also sought details on how the government reconciles such a stance with Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, 2005, which exempts only commercial confidence relating to private parties.

The Hyderabad parliamentarian further asked about steps taken to ensure transparency in railway operations and fare determination, and sought a timeline for public disclosure of the base fare formula, including dynamic pricing, to enable parliamentary oversight of the pricing policy.

Responding in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Ministry of Railways does not consider ticket fares to be a trade secret. He said that information related to fares for all categories of passenger services is widely published and available in the public domain.

The Indian Railways provided a subsidy of ₹60,239 crore on passenger tickets in 2024-25, amounting to an average concession of 43% for every passenger. “In other words, if the cost of providing service is ₹100, then the price of ticket is ₹57 only. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers,” the answer stated.

The government also said that to ensure transparency, details of various components of passenger fares such as base fare, reservation charges, superfast charges and GST are displayed on passenger tickets and published in fare tables in both physical and digital formats. These are available through computerised ticketing systems, including the Passenger Reservation System and the Unreserved Ticketing System, as well as mobile applications such as RailOne.

The Minister added that information on fare rationalisation or revisions is widely published from time to time, and that RTI applications on the subject are examined on a case by case basis in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005