Hyderabad: While the Railways has introduced several premium trains with dynamic fares, which can change according to the demand, it throws up different rates, during the final stage of bookings.
While in the first stage constant rates are shown, by the time the final page for making payment is reached, a different fare crops up. Also, the final fare is often higher than the first class fares and air fares on the same routes.
Passengers are left perplexed at the last moment of making bookings when the fares jump two or sometimes three times. “I was trying to book six tickets in the SVDK Premium Express from Secunderabad to Katra scheduled for May 15, and when I started the booking process, the fare for 3 AC was showing Rs 2,740 per ticket. However, by the time I pressed the make payment option, the fare shown was Rs 6,504 per ticket,” said R. Bheem, a passenger.
Most railway zones operate premium trains on an occasional basis, depending on the demand on certain routes.
When asked, a senior official of the rail department said, “Since premium trains operate on a dynamic pricing basis, it is possible that while a passenger is completing the booking process, the bookings cross the current slab of pricing to the next slab and hence the huge difference. In case of the premium trains, as the bookings increase the price also increases in proportion.”
