Tourism Breaking News
E-tickets bought through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will get costlier as the Indian Railways has decided to restore service fee charges it used to charge on AC and non-AC ticket (Rs 40 and Rs 20 respectively) almost three years ago, after they were withdrawn by the government to promote digital payments. The Railway Board has given its approval to the IRCTC to restore the mechanism of charging service charge from passengers booking online tickets.
In a letter, the Board has said the IRCTC, the ticketing and tourism arm of Indian Railways, had made a ‘detailed case’ for the restoration of service charge on booking of e-ticket and the matter has been examined by the competent authority. It further said the Finance Ministry has contended that the scheme of waiving of service charges was a temporary one and that the railway ministry could begin charging e-tickets.
Officials say that after service charges were discontinued, IRCTC saw a 26 per cent drop in Internet ticketing revenue in financial year 2016-17.
(Credit and source: PTI)
