Lok Sabha Question No. 276 (STARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Categorisation of Ticket Fare as Trade Secret
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Asaduddin Owaisi

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 276

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026

## CATEGORISATION OF TICKET FARE AS TRADE SECRET

- *276. SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  categorised  the  ticket  fare  as  a  trade secret which leads to the rejection of RTI applications;
- (b) if so, the details of reasons for this categorisation despite the fact that the Railway being a public sector enterprise is operating on taxpayers' money;
- (c)  the  manner in which it reconciles this stance with Section 8(1) (d) of the RTI Act, 2005 which exempts only commercial confidence of private parties;
- (d) the details of the steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure greater transparency in the operation of the railways and fare determination; and
- (e) the details of the timeline for public disclosure of the base fare formula including  dynamic  pricing  to  enable  parliamentary  oversight  on  the pricing policy?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  STARRED QUESTION NO.276 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026 IN LOK SABHA (a)  to  (e)    Ministry  of  Railway  does  not  consider  ticket  fare  as  a  'trade secret'.  The  information  related  to  fares  for  all  categories  of  Passenger Services is a widely published information available in the public domain. Indian Railways strives to provide affordable services to all strata of the society and gave a subsidy of ₹ 60,239 cr on passenger tickets in 2024-25. This  amounts  to  concession  of  43%  on  an  average,  to  every  person, travelling  on  Railways.  In  other  words,  if  the  cost  of  providing  service  is ₹100, then the price of ticket is ₹57 only. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers. To ensure utmost transparency, details of various components of passenger  fares  (Base  fare,  Reservation  charge,  Superfast  charge,  GST, etc.)  are  displayed  on  passenger  tickets,  published  as  fare  tables  in physical  and  digital  form,  available  /  displayed  on  computerized  ticketing systems  (Passenger  Reservation  System,  Unreserved  Ticketing  System), mobile applications (RailOne), etc. Further, information related to any change in the passenger fares rationalisation, revisions, etc., undertaken from time to time is also widely published. Indian  Railways  as  a  public  owned  enterprise  is  fully  accountable  to  the people  and  to  the  Parliament  for  delivery  of  services  in  a  financially sustainable manner. Passenger fares are determined taking into consideration cost of service, competition from other modes of transportation, affordability, etc.. Further, RTI applications seeking information on the subject are examined on a case to case basis as per the provisions of RTI Act, 2005.

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