Activists in the city have come down heavily on the Ministry of Railways for their decision to charge children between 5 and 12 years of age, full fare for a berth.
The ministry had announced late last year that they would not longer extend concessional ‘half-ticket-fare’ to children in that age group for a separate berth and that this measure would be implemented from April.
Not only are passengers upset that they would have to spend more on family journeys henceforth, but activists also angry that this was part of a series of passenger-unfriendly measures.
T. Sadagopan, president, Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre, said the Railway Ministry’s initiative to monetise the berths reserved for children aged between 5 and 12 years would create a lot of tensions for the lower- and middle-class families.
V. Rama Rao, member, Traffic and Transportation Forum, said of late the Ministry had launched measures like doubling of cancellation charges, exorbitant fare in the name of premium trains and now the latest being the withdrawal of berths for children.
He said the move should be rolled back as it would hurt the commuters travelling as a family.
Activists said that Railways were not a commercial venture where maximising profit was the motive but also had a social welfare commitment to help lakhs of people travel to different parts of the country.
While concessions were offered to elected representatives who sparingly travelled in trains, the activists said the latest move affecting children should be rolled back.
