20% less on Madurai Duronto tickets if 60% seats stay unsold
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 12.11.2018
Chennai: Passengers on the Chennai-Madurai Duronto Express will now get a discount of 20% of the fare if less than 60%of the seats are unsold four days prior to the scheduled departure of the train.
The discount will on for seats sold up till 70% occupancy is registered. Between 70-80% occupancy, the discount would be 10% on the last fare. There would be no discount above that.
This will be applicable for both 22205 Chennai-Madurai and 22206 Madurai-Chennai Duronto Express.
These changes would come into effect from March 15, 2019 for an experimental basis of six months, the Railway Board said in an order on November 6.
For instance, when ticket availability for the Chennai-Madurai Duronto on November 14 was checked on Saturday, the total fare was ₹1135 at a ticket availability of 432 in the third AC class.
This was around 66% occupancy; which means that passengers booking the ticket yesterday for the November 14 train would have gotten the tickets at a fare of around ₹850-950. This brings the fare almost onpar with that of a third AC seat on the Pandian Express, which is the most popular train on the Chennai-Madurai route. A similar seat on Pandian costs ₹815.
Railway sources said the extra fare of around ₹200-300 was the sole reason why Duronto Express ran virtually empty despite taking almost the same travel time on the section. It was operated from Chennai Central and had a stoppage at Salem.
Sources said the average occupancy was only around 30-40% which never picked up. It is a bi-weekly train. The passenger feedback has been that an omni bus ticket would be cheaper than a ticket on Duronto.
However, what is also inexplicable is that a section of passengers are still paying higher fares for Suvidha special trains on the Chennai-Madurai section, which is buttressed by the 80-90% occupancy registered by Southern Railway.
Southern Railway officials are hopeful that the train’s occupancy will pick up once the discount factor is brought in.
A similar scheme has also been announced for the Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi, which has a low occupancy during pre-defined lean period (February, March and August), as directed by Railway Board. During the non-lean periods, the maximum flexi fare would be 1.4 times in all classes, the Board said.
BOOST TO TRAVEL
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 12.11.2018
Chennai: Passengers on the Chennai-Madurai Duronto Express will now get a discount of 20% of the fare if less than 60%of the seats are unsold four days prior to the scheduled departure of the train.
The discount will on for seats sold up till 70% occupancy is registered. Between 70-80% occupancy, the discount would be 10% on the last fare. There would be no discount above that.
This will be applicable for both 22205 Chennai-Madurai and 22206 Madurai-Chennai Duronto Express.
These changes would come into effect from March 15, 2019 for an experimental basis of six months, the Railway Board said in an order on November 6.
For instance, when ticket availability for the Chennai-Madurai Duronto on November 14 was checked on Saturday, the total fare was ₹1135 at a ticket availability of 432 in the third AC class.
This was around 66% occupancy; which means that passengers booking the ticket yesterday for the November 14 train would have gotten the tickets at a fare of around ₹850-950. This brings the fare almost onpar with that of a third AC seat on the Pandian Express, which is the most popular train on the Chennai-Madurai route. A similar seat on Pandian costs ₹815.
Railway sources said the extra fare of around ₹200-300 was the sole reason why Duronto Express ran virtually empty despite taking almost the same travel time on the section. It was operated from Chennai Central and had a stoppage at Salem.
Sources said the average occupancy was only around 30-40% which never picked up. It is a bi-weekly train. The passenger feedback has been that an omni bus ticket would be cheaper than a ticket on Duronto.
However, what is also inexplicable is that a section of passengers are still paying higher fares for Suvidha special trains on the Chennai-Madurai section, which is buttressed by the 80-90% occupancy registered by Southern Railway.
Southern Railway officials are hopeful that the train’s occupancy will pick up once the discount factor is brought in.
A similar scheme has also been announced for the Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi, which has a low occupancy during pre-defined lean period (February, March and August), as directed by Railway Board. During the non-lean periods, the maximum flexi fare would be 1.4 times in all classes, the Board said.
BOOST TO TRAVEL
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