Rail fares to get cheaper with 'online auction'

New Delhi, Aug 22: The Railways have some good news for people with the launch of 'instant ticketing on discounted rate'. The Railways is planning to soon make the fares cheaper by launching an online auction of train tickets. "We are planning to launch online auction of train tickets and the modalities are being worked out," said a senior Railways Ministry official and added "only sleeper and AC class tickets will be available for online auction." The online bidding for train tickets is expected to bring down its prices.

According to the proposal, the base price of the AC Ist class ticket will be offered at a price equal to AC 2nd class fare of that particular train, the reserve price for 2AC ticket will be equal to the AC 3-Tier fare and sleeper class rate will be applicable for 3AC fare.

Only 10 to 20 per cent seats on selected trains, to begin with, are likely to be offered for bidding on the internet. The auction is expected to open 48 hours before the departure time and closed two hours before the scheduled departure. However, the scheme will not be applicable to 514 pairs of trains categorised as popular trains. All Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains except Ajmer Shatabdi and Chennai-Bangalore Shatabdi Express are exempted from the scheme.

OneIndia News