New Delhi: In what could make travelling by trains more expensive, the Modi cabinet is expected to give its go ahead for the User Development Fees (UDF).
Sources told Zee Media that the cabinet in its meeting next month may give its approval for the User Development Fees that will be levied further from the passengers. This may make rail travel costlier by Rs 10 and upto Rs 35 for passengers taking sleeper class and AC tickets.
The User Development Fee will be different for different category/class of trains. Sources told Zee Media that the User Development Fees will be levied on 5 different categories, of which the AC train passengers will pay the highest fee while the sleeper class passengers will pay the lowest UDF.
After the User Development Fees kicks in, the following categories will pay these hiked fares
AC 1: Rs 35 – Rs 40
AC 2: Rs 30
AC 3: Rs 25 – Rs 30
Sleeper class: Rs 10
The User Development Fees will be applicable to passengers taking the private stations. It may be noted that the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has invited bids from private players to redevelop an area of five lakh square metres at the New Delhi station and another 2.6 lakh square metres surrounding it for commercial purposes.
The RLDA is currently working on 62 stations in a phased manner, while its subsidiary, the IRSDC, has taken up another 61 stations. In the first phase, the RLDA has prioritised prominent stations like New Delhi, Tirupati, Dehradun, Nellore, and Puducherry for redevelopment. The railway stations across India will be redeveloped on a PPP Model as a part of Smart City Projects launched by the government.
