New Delhi, Aug 8 (PTI) Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday that the IRCTC's online facility for booking reserved tickets allows passengers to avoid the hassle of waiting at reservation counters,
which not only saves time but also reduces transportation costs.
Vaishnaw's statement came after MP Sanjay Singh asked him whether the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) levies additional charges on digital payments at the rate of Rs 10 on non-AC tickets and Rs 20 on AC tickets booked through UPI or other modes.
Singh also wanted to know the rationale "behind levying this additional charge on digital transactions despite the government's policy of promoting a cashless economy and the usage of UPI."
"The IRCTC incurs substantial expenditure on providing online ticketing facility and in order to defray the cost incurred in maintenance, upgradation and expansion of ticketing infrastructure, a very nominal convenience fee is levied by IRCTC," Vaishnaw said in a written statement in the Rajya Sabha.
He emphasised that the online ticket booking facility provided is one of the most passenger-friendly initiatives of the Indian Railways, and at present, about 87 per cent of the reserved tickets are booked online. PTI JP JP MPL
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