The Indian Railways earned over Rs 2,800 crore in the last seven years from child travellers after revising child travel fare norms, an RTI response has revealed. The financial year 2022-23 alone earned Rs 560 crore from the change in norms, making it the most profitable year, the response from the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act showed.
The Ministry of Railways on March 31, 2016, announced it would start charging full adult fare for children aged 5 and under 12 years if they opted for separate berths or seats in a reserved coach. The amended norm came into effect on April 21, 2016. Earlier, children between 5 and 12 years were offered separate berths at half the travel fare.
