Railway Fare Hike From JULY 1, 2025; How To Check Train Fares, Authenticate Aadhaar & Book Tickets Online?

The railway train tickets are going to hit passengers' pockets, as reports are stating that Indian railways are likely to hike fares with effect from July 1, 2025. However, the railway fare hike is expected to be minor with non-AC mail and express train charges rising by 1 paise per kilometer.

As per reports, the AC class train tickets may see a 2 paise per kilometer hike.

Sources told the Times of India that passenger fares for non-AC Mail/Express trains will be hiked by 1 paise per kilometer. The fare hike for AC class will be 2 paise per kilometer. Also, for distances greater than 500 kilometers, the hike will be half a paisa per kilometer.

Notably, there are no hikes on suburban and monthly season tickets.

Earlier in March, the Ministry of Railways had revealed that currently, the cost of travel per kilometre by train is Rs1.38, but passengers are charged only 73 paise, meaning a 47% subsidy is provided, to ensure fair and transparent access for train passengers. These changes are aimed at enhancing user authentication and reducing misuse of the scheme.

However, it needs to be noted that the latest developments are not confirmed by the Railways Ministry of Indian Railways; hence, GoodReturns could not confirm the same. Although, train passengers can always check the fare for train ticket reservations on the official website.

Step 1: Visit the Indian Railways official website. Click on the link below:

https://www.indianrail.gov.in/enquiry/FARE/FareEnquiry.html?locale=en

Step 2: Enter the train number, and select the journey date.

Step 3: Then enter the source station and enter the destination station.

Step 4: Select which seats you would like to book. For example, there are sleeper classes, first AC, second AC, third AC, AC chair car, 3 AC economy and much more.

Step 5: The last step is to check which quota you belong to. It can be either tatkal, general, ladies, defence, handicapped, foreign tourist, premium tatkal, lower berth, duty pass, yuva and parliament.

Then select the 'GET FARE' option, and you will be guided to the page where prices will be available for review.

Tatkal Ticket Bookings New Rules:

Recently, this month, Indian Railways announced various changes to the Tatkal ticket booking system.

As per the Ministry of Railways, the following are the new rules for tatkal tickets which will come into effect from July 1:

1. Aadhaar Authentication for Online Tatkal Bookings:

Effective 1st July 2025, Tatkal tickets booked through IRCTC's official website and mobile app will be available only to users authenticated with Aadhaar. Further, Aadhaar-based OTP authentication will become mandatory for Tatkal bookings made online starting 15th July 2025.

2. System-Based OTP Authentication at PRS Counters and Agents:

Tatkal tickets booked at computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters and through authorised agents will require OTP authentication sent to the mobile number provided by the user at the time of booking. This will come into effect from July 15, 2025.

3. Booking Time Restriction for Authorised Agents:

To prevent bulk bookings during the critical opening period, authorised ticketing agents of Indian Railways will not be permitted to book opening-day Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window.

That being said, for AC classes, this restriction applies from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM, and for non-AC classes, from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM.

"These changes are being implemented to improve transparency in Tatkal bookings and to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach genuine end users," the ministry said on June 11, 2025.

It also urged all passengers to take note of these changes and encourages everyone to ensure Aadhaar linkage with their IRCTC user profiles to avoid inconvenience.

Authenticate your IRCTC User ID now by following these steps:

• Log in to the IRCTC website or the IRCTC Rail Connect Mobile App.

• Go to "My Account".
• Click on "Authenticate User" and complete the process.

How To Search Train And Ticket Fares Through IRCTC:

Step 1: Register as an individual at IRCTC. Registration is FREE. Click on the link below:

https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/train-search

Step 2: Login by entering your User name and Password.

Step 3: Provide your desired From - To station, Date of Journey and Class of travel. In case, you do not have any fixed date of journey, select "Flexible with Date" option. Divyaang passengers should select "Divyaang" option to avail corresponding benefits.

Step 4: To find train list, click on "Search" option. The next page displays the list of trains available for the selected route.

Step 5: If you wish to know the route and the timings, click on Train Schedule link. To select the train from the train list, click on the type of class available in the selected train.

Step 6: The fare will appear for a single adult passenger.

How To Book Train Tickets Online:

Step 1: To book e-ticket in the selected train, click on "Book Now" button on the IRCTC page.

Step 3: Passenger Reservation Page will appear; check whether the train name, station names, class and journey date displayed on the page are same as desired by you.

Step 4: Enter the Name of the Passengers, Age, Gender, Berth Preference etc. details for each passenger.

Step 5: The maximum length of names should be restricted to 16 characters. If the Passenger is a senior citizen (60 years and above for male and 58 years and above for female) and wants to avail Senior Citizens' concession (40% of Base fare for male and 50% of base fare for female), select the avail concession from the drop down list. Senior citizens are requested to carry some proof of age in original during their journey. The allotment of your required berth depends on the availability.

Step 6: After providing correct details, click on "Continue" button. To change any details related to Train, Class, Quota etc. "Back" button may be used.

Step 7: The ticket details, Total fare (including GST & Convenience Fee) and availability of berths at the particular time appear on the screen.

Step 8: To change any details related to Passengers, Back button may be used.

Step 9: After checking all details, click on Continue button for Payment process. All payment options are grouped under specific categories (viz. Credit cards, Net banking, Wallets and Multiple payment service etc.)

Step 10: Select the desired payment option from the displayed Payment Gateway menus.

Step 11: Click on "Pay & Book" button for redirection to selected Bank website.

Step 12: After successful payment and booking of accommodations, Ticket Confirmation Page will appear.