Railways Should Refund Passengers Who Pay Full Fare, But Don't Get Berth Under RAC, Says Parliamentary Committee

New Delhi: Charging full fare for tickets booked under the RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation), where passengers may have to travel without an allotted berth throughout the course of the journey, is not justified, a recent report by a parliamentary committee said.

According to sources, the report titled "Punctuality and Travel Time in Train Operations in Indian Railways", compiled by the Public Accounts Committee, was tabled in the Parliament on Wednesday (February 4).

The Ministry of Railways should bring in a practice where passengers who paid full prices but were not allotted a full berth after the final chart is prepared should be refunded at least a portion of the fare, the committee reportedly said.

The committee also pointed out the need to review the criteria under which Superfast trains are currently defined. The Railways had fixed the benchmark for Superfast trains at an average speed of 55 kmph on broad gauge and 45 kmph on metre gauge in May 2007. The definition has not been revised since 2007, the committee flagged.

The committee suggested that Indian Railways look into these recommendations and inform the Parliament on the steps taken in this regard. 

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