Now Reading: Railways charged Rs 168 crore superfast surcharge on slow trains
-
01
Railways charged Rs 168 crore superfast surcharge on slow trains
Indian Railways collected Rs 168 crore in superfast surcharge from passengers on trains that did not meet the mandatory 55 kmph average speed criteria, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)…
The Story in Brief
Indian Railways collected Rs 168 crore in superfast surcharge from passengers on trains that did not meet the mandatory 55 kmph average speed criteria, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said. The audit, covering April 2022 to March 2023, identified 190 trains that failed the speed benchmark yet charged the extra fee. Railways accepted the finding in August 2024 and issued corrective instructions in November 2025. However, the CAG found that 100 of those 190 trains were still operating below 55 kmph as of March 2026, and zonal railways continued to levy the surcharge. The auditor has recommended revising train schedules to align classification with actual speed.
The Indian Opinion
The CAG report exposes a broken feedback loop: Railways accepted the audit finding in 2024, issued orders in 2025, but 100 trains still run below 55 kmph and still levy surcharge. This is not a minor technical lapse but a collective failure of zonal enforcement and passenger refund mechanisms. Whether Railways will now reclassify those 100 trains, issue refunds, or simply update schedules to match actual speeds will determine if the system is serious about rule-based charging.
Source: timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
