Railways earned over Rs 600 cr through convenience fee in 2022-23 so far: Rail Minister

The Railways has earned more than Rs 600 crore through convenience fee, which it retains from passengers on the cancellation of a ticket, so far in 2022-23, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the cancellation or clerkage charge is levied on cancellation of tickets as per the Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Tickets and Refund of Fare) Rules 2015.

In addition to the normal fare indicated on the reserved tickets issued through computerised passenger reservation system counters, the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) also charges convenience fee from passengers who book tickets online.

The minister said the convenience fee amount charged is Rs 30 for air-conditioned classes and Rs 15 for non-AC classes.

On cancellation of ticket, this convenience fee is not refunded.

He said that convenience fee collected by the IRCTC during 2019-20 was Rs 352.33 crore, during 2020-21 it was Rs 299.17 crore, in 2021-22 it was Rs 694.08 crore and Rs 604.40 crore in 2022-23 till December.