New Delhi: As per the information revealed by the sources, the revised Flexi-fare scheme of railways is all set to roll out from September. The revised Flexi-fare scheme would come as a relief for passengers who have to pay as much as airfare for some premium trains.
The sources informed that the plan of the Ministry of Railways is to suspend the scheme temporarily during lean months in some identified trains. This is being experimented on the backdrop of low occupancy which is as low as 30 per cent.
Apart from this, the ministry is also working on the formula which is being used in Humsafar trains. In Humsafar trains, first 50 per cent berths are sold at 15 per cent higher price than the base price thereafter the slab changes with every 10 per cent of the birth sold.
Other than these two experiments, the government is also planning to come up with some special discounts under the schemes in routes with less traffic.
An official informed that the final shape for such a move will be announced by next week as its removal would also lead to refunds for advance bookings.
Notably, Comptroller and Auditor General of India hit hard on the railways with its recent report. The report stated that for a large number of routes travelling in a flight was cheaper than in the train. The report was stated this after comparing airfare for 13 sectors.
While talking about the absolute numbers, CAG mentioned in its report that during post-flexi period which was around September 9, 2016, to July 31, 2017, 240 million passengers travelled in premium trains whereas, during pre-flexi period which was from September 9, 2015, to July 31, 2016, 247 million passengers travelled in premium trains.
