Varun Gandhi questions Centre’s move to scrap train fare concession to elderly

BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Friday questioned the government’s decision to scrap the concession given to senior citizens in train tickets and asked why this relief to the elderly is seen as a ”burden” when MPs continue to get subsidies on train fares.

Ending the concession for the elderly is unfortunate, he said and asked the government to reconsider the decision. It is insensitive to desert our people at this stage of their lives, he said.

The Railway ministry recently informed Parliament that the cost of granting concessions to passengers ”weighs heavily” on the national transporter, ruling out the restoration of the facility for all categories.

Female senior citizen travelers were eligible for a 50 percent concession, while male and transgenders availed of a 40 percent discount in all classes. The minimum age limit for a woman to avail of the concession was 58, while it was 60 for a man. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently said the Indian Railways is already bearing more than 50 percent of the cost of travel, on an average, for all passengers, including senior citizens, on account of lower fare structure for passenger services. He also said the railways has forgone Rs 4,794 crore as revenue due to concessions in passenger fares to senior citizen passengers during 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 for both reserved and unreserved categories.

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