Air Tickets Cancellation Charges “Reduced”; Rs 12k Cr Budget Approved For Train Safety!

 

 

Airlines operating in India have decided to become less stubborn, when it comes to cancellation of tickets. After Civil Aviation Minister expressed his disappointment on the flat Rs 3000 cancellation fees, things got moving, and now, cancellation of domestic air tickets would be charged less.

Meanwhile, after a series of train accidents in the last few months, Indian Rail has approved of Rs 12,000 crore budget for enhancing safety and security of trains.

Air Tickets Cancellation Will Become Cheaper

Airlines all across the country has resorted to charging flat Rs 3000 as cancellation fee, even for those tickets which were priced lesser, or around Rs 3000.

This led to Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha expressing his disappointment, and the same was shared with DGCA. In turn, DGCA asked the airlines to be more reasonable. In fact, the Minister had said that often the cancellation fees is more than the price of the ticket, which seems illogical.

After the rebuke from the Minister, airlines have now tweaked the rules, and decided that the cancellation fees shall be “Rs 3,000 or base fare plus fuel surcharge per passenger, whichever is lower”.

As per civil experts, this will greatly benefit those 10-15% of airline passengers, who are compelled to cancel their tickets owing to some or the other reasons, every month.

Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.com said,

“It will also benefit those who travel on shorter routes where ticket fare is lower than Rs 3,000… The move will also help in lowering customer grievances, which are largely around the issue of the quantum of charges levied on cancellations,”

A spokesperson from Vistara said,

“Travel agents may levy own service fee as well, which is not in our control… Vistara’s cancellation charges have always been compliant with the regulations. And we also have flex fares with nil change and cancel fees,”

Rs 12,000 Crore Allocated For Train Safety

Meanwhile, Indian Railways has received approval from the Railway Board to spend Rs 12,000 crore for enhancing safety and security of trains.

This sum would be spent to acquire the latest train protection system from Europe, especially designed for electric locomotives. Around 6000 electric engines would be now equipped with European Train Control System (ETCS) Level-II to help drivers and helpers prevent any sort of accident on the tracks. In addition to that, the entire 9,054 km-long Golden Quadrilateral route will be equipped with ETCS system.

Golden Quadrilateral route connects all the four metros with train tracks, and soon, this will be declared as accident-free corridor.

The biggest advantage of ETCS Level II is the wireless communication embedded into the system. This is a wireless radio medium which uses a GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communication-Railways) network, thereby enhancing and improving communications between the drivers and the signalling hubs.

We will keep you updated as receive more information.