Railway Fare Hike Takes Effect December 26 with Graded Increases
Railway Fare Hike Takes Effect December 26 with Graded Increases
Indian Railways announces a rationalised fare hike from December 26, with small per-km increases for non-suburban routes and unchanged suburban services.
The Railway Ministry on Thursday (December 25, 2025) officially notified a hike in train ticket prices by 1 paise per km for ordinary class beyond a journey of 215 km, and 2 paise per km for non-AC classes of mail/express trains and AC classes of all trains. On December 21, the Ministry announced its decision to increase the passenger fares from December 26. This is the second time in a year that the Ministry has revised passenger train fares, the earlier hike having been implemented in July. The ministry said the revision aims to balance affordability for passengers with the sustainability of operations.
Under the revised fare structure, there is no change in fares for suburban services and season tickets, including both suburban and non-suburban routes. For ordinary non-AC (non-suburban) services, fares have been rationalised in a graded manner across second class ordinary, sleeper class ordinary, and first class ordinary. In second class ordinary, there is no increase in fare for journeys up to 215 km, ensuring short-distance and daily commuters are not impacted. For distances from 216 km to 750 km, the fare increases by ₹5. For longer journeys, increases are ₹10 for 751–1250 km, ₹15 for 1251–1750 km, and ₹20 for 1751–2250 km.
Fares for sleeper class ordinary and first class ordinary have been revised uniformly at the rate of 1 paise per kilometre for non-suburban journeys, ensuring a gradual and limited rise in ticket prices. For mail/express trains, the fare increase has been rationalised at 2 paise per kilometre across non-AC and AC classes. This includes sleeper class, first class, AC chair car, AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier, and AC first class. For example, a 500 km journey in non-AC mail/express services would see a ₹10 rise.
Officials emphasise that this fare rationalisation is intended to support operational sustainability while keeping long-distance and frequent travel within reach for many passengers, and that suburban services and season tickets will remain unaffected.
