• To opitimise utilization of accommodation in AC chair car & Executive class, zonal railways delegated power to introduce discounts up to a maximum of 25% of basic fare
• It is continuous endeavour of Indian Railways to reduce the operational cost of trains

Zonal railways had been delegated power to introduce discounts up to a maximum of 25% of basic fare in AC chair car and Executive class in order to optimize utilization of accommodation (vide commercial circular no. 40 of 2019, dated 27.8.2019). This authorized zonal railways to offer competitive fares over certain segments after analyzing the travel trends for all competitive modes in the region and also estimating the future occupancy potential.

The same provisions were extended with some minor modifications (vide commercial circular no. 11 of 2023, dated 8.7.2023). Further, fare rationalization is a continuous process to optimize utilization of travel accommodation in trains.

During current financial year, 2023-24 (up to June 2023), the overall utilization of Vande Bharat trains has been 99.60%.

The operational cost depends on various factors including traction energy cost and traction energy consumption. It is continuous endeavour of Indian Railways to reduce the operational cost of trains. Vande Bharat rakes are having regenerative braking system as its core design feature which feeds braking energy back to Over Head Equipment (OHE) and thus reduces traction energy consumption.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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