A parliamentary committee has said it is not fair to charge full fare for rail tickets booked under the RAC category, when such ticket holders often get incomplete facilities. The committee has suggested to the Railways that partial fare should be refunded to such passengers.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in its report titled Punctuality and Travel Time in Train Operations in Indian Railways presented in Parliament, said that charging full fare for tickets under RAC (Reserved Seats on Canceled Tickets) category is not justified. In this, often after the chart is prepared, the ticket holder does not get the entire berth and he has to share the seat with another passenger. The committee urged the Railways to refund partial fare to such passengers and inform about the steps taken in this regard.
Review of norms for superfast trains necessary
Emphasizing the need to review the norms for superfast trains in Indian Railways, the Committee observed that in May 2007, the Railways had decided that if the average speed of a train, in both inbound and outbound directions, is at least 55 kmph on broad gauge and 45 kmph on meter gauge, it would be considered a Superfast (SF) train. The committee said the audit found that the criteria of 55 kmph is low to classify a train as superfast.
Why did the parliamentary committee give this recommendation?
- The committee also found that out of 478 superfast trains, 123 trains have a rated speed of less than 55 kmph.
- The ministry told the committee that 47 of these trains placed in the superfast category have a speed of more than 55 km per hour.
- The speed of the remaining trains was found to be less than 55 kmph.
- The ministry said the provision of additional halts after the resumption of regular operations has affected the average speed of some trains.
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