Under pressure from passengers over hike in fares, the Railways on Friday issued an order to discontinue the ‘special’ tag for mail and express trains and revert to pre-pandemic ticket prices with immediate effect. Since the coronavirus-triggered lockdown was eased, the Railways has been running only special trains. It started with long-distance trains and now, even short-distance passenger services are being run as special trains with “slightly higher fares” to “discourage people from avoidable travels”.
In a letter to zonal railways on Friday, the Railway Board said trains will now be operated with their regular numbers and fares will revert to normal pre-Covid prices.
Ticket prices of special trains and holiday special trains are marginally higher.
