‘Why Can't Senior Citizens Expect Facility Of Concessional Tickets From The Railways?’ RTI Activist Asks Govt

The Indian Railways has raked in an additional revenue of Rs 8,913 crore in five years (between March 2020 and February 2025) by withdrawing concessions for senior citizens, according to replies from the Centre for Railway Information Systems on a Right to Information Act (CRIS) application.

CRIS functions under the Railway Ministry, developing and maintaining ticketing and passenger data, besides offering various other services.

Before March 20, 2020, men and transgender persons aged 60 and above received a 40 percent discount, while women over 58 enjoyed a 50 percent discount on all train classes.

These concessions were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been maintained since.

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Railway Minister clarifies

"Indian Railways strives to provide affordable services to all strata of the society and gave subsidies of Rs 56,993 crore on passenger tickets in 2022- 23. This amounts to a concession of 46 per cent on average, to every person travelling on Railways," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on March 19, 2025.

"In other words for easier understanding, if the cost of providing service is Rs 100, then the price of the ticket is Rs 54 only. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers,” he elaborated.

RTI activist speaks up

According to RTI activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur, 31.35 crore senior citizens travelled on Indian Railways without any concession between March 2020 and February 2025, including 18.279 crore men, 13.065 crore women, and 43,536 transgender individuals.

A revenue of Rs 20,133 crore was collected from these passengers, which is Rs 8,913 crore more than they would have otherwise.

Gaur demanded reinstating the concession, asking, "A common citizen pays various taxes throughout his life and on entering the age of senior citizen, can't he expect the facility of concessional railway tickets from the Railways?"

"On what ground does the government call itself a welfare state?" he added.

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