Railways has withdrawn the discount given to senior citizens on train tickets since the Corona period. However, from time to time there has been a demand to restore this concession given to senior citizens in trains. Even in the winter session of the Lok Sabha, some members raised the demand for increasing fare concessions and facilities for senior citizens traveling in trains.
However, even before this, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has told in the Lok Sabha that during the train journey, every passenger is given an average subsidy of 53 percent on the train ticket. Apart from this, he also told which people get discount on tickets while traveling by train.
Demand for discount in train tickets raised again
During Zero Hour in the House, Janata Dal (United) MP Kaushalendra Kumar said that before the Corona epidemic, senior citizens used to get discount in rail fares, but it was stopped. He said that Corona is over, but senior citizens have not started getting concession in fare. Kumar urged the government to restore the concession earlier given to senior citizens in rail fares.
Arrangement of lower berth for senior citizens
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramesh Bidhuri urged the government to make arrangements to ensure lower seats for senior citizens in trains so that they do not face any problem in travelling.
He said, “Nowadays, there are small families and senior citizens usually travel alone. They find it difficult to get a middle or upper seat in the train… It should be ensured that they get a lower seat.”
Memorial for farmers
Congress MP Ravneet Bittu said that a memorial should be built in Delhi in honor of those farmers who died during the farmers’ movement. Congress’s Pradyut Bordoloi said that the North-East is becoming the ‘cancer capital’ of the country and the government should pay attention to this. He urged the government to take necessary steps to make cancer treatment affordable.
Who gets discount in railways?
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has already told in the Lok Sabha that Railways tries to provide economical service in trains to all sections of the society. Between 2019-20, Railways has given a subsidy of Rs 59,837 crore on passenger tickets. Railways gives an average 53 percent subsidy to every person traveling by train. This subsidy is being given continuously to all the passengers. Apart from this, Railways also gives discount on train tickets to many special categories of passengers. For example, concessions are being given to 4 categories of disabled persons (Divyangjan), 11 categories of patients and 8 categories of students. During 2022-23, approximately 18 lakh patients and their companions have taken advantage of this special concession.
