# Special trains see low demand due to higher fares and delays: officials 2026-11-07T14:07:18+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Railway officials have admitted that special trains run to clear the festive rush are less attractive to passengers due to higher fares, longer journey times, and poor punctuality. An official cited the New Delhi-Patna route where a special train charges Rs 1,745 for AC 3-tier, against Rs 1,390 on the regular Sampoorna Kranti Express, and takes nearly 23 hours against 13 hours. Another said such trains often arrive 25 to 30 hours late. Despite the Railway Ministry's claim of operating 18,000 special train trips, the IRCTC website shows regular trains on almost all routes have long waiting lists or a ‘Regret’ status. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday a war room at Rail Bhawan is monitoring trains for safe and timely arrival. Senior officials have suggested the ministry should keep special train fares lower than regular ones given their longer travel times and uncertain schedules. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both sources carry virtually identical reporting from railway officials, with Deccan Herald adding the ministerial claim of 18,000 special trips and a war room. The officials' criticism, higher fares, longer journey times, poor punctuality, is the core of both stories, making the coverage uniformly critical of the special trains' design, not of the government per se. Deccan Herald places the official quotes beside the minister's statement, creating a tension between stated effort and ground reality. Neither outlet omits the other's key data. The independent reading: the railways acknowledge that while special trains serve festive demand, their pricing and scheduling deter passengers, leaving regular trains overloaded. The officials' suggestion to lower special-train fares relative to regular ones is the notable concrete next step in both versions. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 government-critical - ndtvprofit.com (government critical) Leads with officials' criticism, adds minister's war room claim - deccanherald.com (government critical) Pairs minister's 18,000 trips with detailed official complaint This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Indian Railways, IRCTC, Rail Bhawan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/special-trains-see-low-demand-due-to-higher-fares-and-delays-officials/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/special-trains-see-low-demand-due-to-higher-fares-and-delays-officials/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/