Mumbai: Stop free train tickets to MPs, MLAs, demand passenger associations

As railway minister reiterates that ticket concessions for senior citizens wonrsquot be restored Mumbai passenger associations experts ask if railways will withdraw the concessions for lawmakers and politicians tooldquoPassenger fares in most of the classes are very low The Indian Railwaysrsquos passenger segment has suffered a recurring loss due to low fare and concessions to different categories of passengers It is not desirable to restore concessions on railway tickets given to senior citizens and sportspersons as the cost weighs heavily on the Railwaysrdquo Minister of Railways Ashiwini Vaishnaw said in a reply to Lok Sabha on Wednesdaymidday highlighted the issue as early as March 2022 stating that the railways may not restore senior citizen concessions Revenue foregone due to concessions in passenger fare to senior citizens during 201718 201819 and 201920 for both reserved and unreserved was Rs 1491 crore Rs 1636 crore and Rs 1667 crore respectivelyAlso readMumbai Central Railway gets its sixth AC local trainldquoThe figures mean that about Rs 1500 crore on an average was spent on senior citizen concessions In comparison the government gave tax relief of about R45 lakh crore to the corporate sector under various schemes for the same period So one can conclude how much the government respects the senior citizens of the countryrdquo asked Jitendra Gupta of the Citizen Transport CommitteeEnd subsidies for MPs MLAsldquoWhy canrsquot the government think of curtailing subsidies peaks pension and free travel enjoyed by elected representatives and their spouses Even if an elected representative needs to travel for his official work whatrsquos the need of a spouse to travel with himher How many whitecollar executives enjoy such a facility even in the best corporate in the country Why does the government fail to walk the talk and set an example for all future generations Do they seriously wish to get elected in the next election and secure their vote bank by setting such examplesrdquo asked GuptaldquoFor over two years the Railways has not given due respect to senior citizens which is very unfair Crores of rupees are being wasted on unnecessary work and it is not correct to say that spending money on this concession is undesirable Why this stepmotherly treatment It should be restored as soon as possiblerdquo said Mansoor Umer Darvesh 62 from Jogeshwari said Darvesh a senior citizen passenger committeersquos member has been a Mumbai local passenger activist for over 25 yearsldquoThe Railways can restrict concessions to the escorts of senior citizens who accompany them in trains but the privilege of senior citizens and their rich life experience deserves concession for travel I am sure it would not be much of a burden to weaken the finances of railwaysrdquo said Shailesh Goyal the former member of National Railway Usersrsquo Consultative Council ldquoIf they are not restoring concessions to senior citizens then they should think of withdrawal of free tickets to members of parliament and Legislative Assembly too and cut down on free travel passes to its staffrdquo commuter association member Ketan Shah saidBefore March 2020 in the case of senior citizens 50 per cent discount was given to women passengers and 40 per cent to men in all classes The minimum age limit for availing this relaxation was 58 years for women and 60 years for menBarring a handful of restrictions implemented during Covid19 Railways has majorly rolled back all the others The concession to all categories of passengers except to 4 categories of Divyangjan people with disabilities and 11 categories of patients and students had been withdrawn on March 20 2020 to discourage people from travelling amid the Coronavirus outbreakRs 1500 crYearly revenue forgone by rlys on concessions till rsquo20