Indian Railways: Second-largest freight carrier globally, affordable travel maintained

The government of India has announced that the movement of goods by means of Railways has improved tremendously and thereby making it the second-largest freight hauler in the world. The freight traffic rise was from 1,233 million tonnes (MT) in 2020-21 to a total of 1,617 MT in 2024-25.

Minimal fare hike keeps travel affordable

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister, told that the cost of freight has been kept low and unchanged since the year 2018, notwithstanding the fact that costs have increased progressively over the years.

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Passenger fares were raised from 1st July 2025, after more than five years, with little increments so as to maintain the affordability of travel for passengers.

In response to questions in Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said that the fare increase is very small, for it has been varying from 0.5 paise per km to 2 paise per km for premium classes and hence, travel is mostly affordable.

Some of the measures taken to ensure the affordability of passenger fares included:

• General class: No increase for journeys up to 500 km; 0.5 paise per km increase for longer distances
• Sleeper Class Ordinary and First-Class Ordinary: 0.5 paise per km rise
• Non-AC classes in Mail/Express trains: 1 paise per km rise
• Reserved AC classes: 2 paise per km rise

The minister stated that the fares for Monthly Season Tickets (MST) and suburban commuter trains have been maintained at the same level in order to provide affordable and convenient travel for lower and middle-income families all over the country.

The Indian Railways has certainly taken steps to not only enhance the freight but also boost the revenues, like for example:

• Bringing the railways to farmers' doorstep by new lines
• Physical upscaling of tracks on old lines
• Conversion of single lines into double lines of modern standards

“To date, there are 431 railway projects that have been, by the 1st of April, 2025, sanctioned. The Indian Railways has reached 99.1% electrification of Broad Gauge lines and has increased the freight capacity by adding around 200,000 wagons and over 10,000 locomotives since 2014.”