Good news for train travelers: Indian Railways to cut fares of AC 3-tier class tickets

Indian Railways Ticket Fare Reduce: Indian Railways on Wednesday, March 22 issued an order to reduce the AC-3 economy class (Tier 3) fare. As per the order issued, railways will continue offering bed linen to passengers despite the reduction in price. This decision has come into effect from Wednesday, March 22.

Passengers who have booked tickets online and over the counter will be given a refund of the extra amount for the pre-booked tickets, according to the order.

The present order has withdrawn an earlier circular in which the fare for AC 3-tier economy class ticket had been made equal to the fare of an AC 3-tier ticket. The reason for the merger was stated to be the cost of linen which was initially not provided in the economy air-conditioned class, said PTI.

The railways, while introducing the 3E as a class in September 2021, had announced that fares in these newly-introduced coaches will be 6-8 per cent less than normal AC 3 coaches, pitching the class of travel as the "best and cheapest AC travel service" in the world.

Before the November 2022 order, passengers could book AC 3 economy tickets under a separate category of "3E" in specific trains where railways offered such seats.

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Difference between an AC3 coach and an AC3 economy coach?

Economy AC3 coach is a cheap air conditioned rail travel service introduced by the Indian Railway to provide the best and cheapest AC travel to sleeper class passengers. The ticket fare of this coach is 6-7 per cent less than the normal AC3.

Why the fare is reduced?

According to the Railway officials, AC 3 coaches have better facilities for passengers than AC 3 economy coaches. Also, a normal AC 3-tier coach has 72 berths, while AC 3-tier economy has 80 and is more spacious. The berths in AC 3-tier economy are also thin compared to the AC 3-tier.

Currently, there are 463 AC 3 Economy coaches compared to 11,277 normal AC 3 coaches, said PTI citing officials. Railways earned Rs 231 crore from the AC 3-tier economy class in the first year of its introduction. According to data, from April-August, 2022, 15 lakh people travelled in these coaches, generating earnings of Rs 177 crore.

(With PTI Inputs)

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