Taking a cue from the airlines, the Railways intend to launch on-line auction of tickets for air-conditioned coaches in all trains.
Five-eight per cent of the seats are expected to be put up for auction. As per a proposal awaiting Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's approval, the reserve price will be at least 50 per cent of the normal fare, railway officials said.
The reserve prices can be lowered further if five or more seats continue to be on offer until the date of departure of the trains. This auction is expected to be part of the frequent travellers scheme that is being finalised.
The scheme was announced by previous Railway Minister Nitish Kumar in the interim rail Budget in January, 2004, and was to be implemented for Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi trains. Under the scheme, frequent travellers would be entitled to discounts in off-season.
The Railways now propose to offer the scheme to all passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches of any train. Besides, the scheme is proposed to be made available around the year.
Travellers eligible for the scheme will be entitled to up to 10 per cent discount points every time they travel. They will get higher discount points during the off-season period from January 15-March 31 and July 15-September 30.
The frequent travellers will have to register with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, which will issue them a discount card in which the points will be credited. For the convenience of travellers, the Railways will credit the discount points to credit and debit cards.
The frequent travellers scheme has been launched in place of the flexi-pricing scheme announced in the 2003-04 rail Budget. Under the scheme, 10 per cent discount was offered to AC-I and AC-II passengers travelling by the Rajdhani Express during off-season.
© 2025