Indian Railways says fare fixation formula is ‘trade secret’

The Indian Railways has refused to disclose the methodology of fare fixation of antithetic classes saying it was a “trade secret”.

Responding to a petition filed nether the Right to Information Act, 2005, seeking accusation connected the modular methodology oregon criteria utilized by the Indian Railways for calculating the basal fare for bid tickets crossed categories, the Chief Public Information Officer held that the classification and methodology of fare fixation fell successful the domain of commercialized secret/intellectual spot rights and disclosure was not considered due successful nationalist interest.

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After the petitioner appealed against the determination earlier the Central Information Commission, the Director, Rates, and Joint Director, Railway Board, clarified that the Indian Railways is tally arsenic a commercialized inferior and, astatine the aforesaid time, being an instrumentality of State was required to discharge assorted societal obligations successful nationalist interest.

Profits distributed to communal man

“Therefore, the disclosure of pricing related accusation is not justified successful nationalist interest, arsenic nett if immoderate is distributed to communal antheral and is not retained for the payment of idiosyncratic summation arsenic successful the lawsuit of backstage enterprise,” the respondents said.

Justifying the denial of accusation nether the provisions of Section 8(1)(d) of the Act, the CPIO shared the latest basal fare operation for rider bid services that came into effect from December 26, 2025.

Upholding the determination of the railways, the committee said that the CPIO was lone a communicator of accusation based connected records held successful the bureau and not expected to make accusation arsenic per the tendency of the petitioner. The nationalist authorization could lone supply accusation readily disposable connected record. The reply fixed by the CPIO was successful consonance with the provisions of the Act and determination was nary infirmity successful the same.

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After the caller revision successful fares, the railways announced the pricing for the recently launched Vande Bharat sleeper trains, which were importantly higher erstwhile compared to the existing fare operation of Mail/Express and Super Fast Express trains, railway sources said.