During the first week of February, Railway Ministry and Niti Aayog reached a conclusion on UDF formula.
Want world-class railway stations, then be prepared to spend some extra amount. It is being discussed from a long time that like airports, in railway stations too user development fees will be implemented. According to reports, for this Railway Ministry has issued cabinet note. This means railways is just one step to implementing user development fees or UDF. After discussions with Niti Aayog, to implement UDF the cabinet note was issued.
During the first week of February, Railway Ministry and Niti Aayog reached a conclusion on UDF formula.
Rail travel will be costlier
To extract user development fees from passengers at railway stations, this note can be passed next month from the cabinet. After that it will be implemented. This means that next time when you book a rail ticket, you may be charged UDF fees, which may increase your rail fare.
Will everyone have to give UDF?
The question arises that will UDF be extracted from all passengers from every station in the country? The answer is no. This will only be implemented in those stations which are being re-developed - beautified and made convenient by private companies. If you travel from these stations then you have to pay UDF fees.
According to Railway Board CEO V K Yadav, there are 700 to 1000 such railway stations where UDF will be recovered from the passengers. As for now, in the first phase 62 stations have been identified, which will go through re-development process. This includes New Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Indore and Chandigarh railway stations.
How much and how UDF will be charged?
As for now, it is yet to be decided how much user development fees will be levied. But according to an estimation, Rs 30 to Rs 40 per ticket can be implemented. UDF amount will also vary as per the travel class. This means the UDF fees will be maximum in AC1 tier compared to AC2 and AC3 tier. UDF fee will be the least in AC3 tier. As per sources, UDF will not be levied on general tickets. Not only on passenger tickets, but UDF can be levied on platform tickets too.
No burden on common man
According to the Railway Board CEO V K Yadav, user development fees will be such that it does not become a burden for the common man. This small fees will be helpful in granting passengers better facilities. Since many stations are being bid on the re-development model, the government wants to notify UDF soon, so that more and more private players can participate in the bidding process.
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