Exclusive! Indian Railways to soon charge you for boarding, deboarding at these railway stations

Following the footsteps of the Indian airports, the Indian Railways is soon going to levy charges for using the railway platforms. The charges for using the railway platforms would be called the User Development Fee (UDF) that will be used for the development of the railway platforms. According to the Zee Business TV exclusive report, while flying through Indian airports, Indian passengers pay Airport Development Charges and the fund collected through the ADC is used for development and maintenance of the airport. The Indian Railways is planning to do the same for the development and modernisation of the Indian railway platforms.

In the first stage, Zee Business reports that the Indian Railways officials are planning to levy UDF soon and they have already chosen four railway stations for implementation of this idea. The four chosen railway platforms are Nagpur, Amritsar, Gwalior and Sabarmati. The Indian Railways is exercising this new idea for the redevelopment of the railway platforms. For the redevelopment of the railway platforms, the Indian Railways is mulling to invite private players to do the redevelopment work of the railway platforms. After these four railway stations, Chatrapati Shivaji Station in Mumbai, Ludhiyana, Bijwasan, Anand Vihar and other Delhi stations will the stations where UDF charges will be levied.

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According to the reports, if a railway passenger boards or deboards at Nagpur, Amritsar, Gwalior and Sabarmati, then he or she will have to pay the UDF. However, how much the UDF charge Indian Railways is planning to levy is still not clear. The UDF will be applicable not only on the passengers but for those also who enter the platform buying platform ticket for receiving or dropping an Indian Railways passenger.

According to the Ministry of Railways, this UDF will be levied on only those railway platforms that will be redeveloped through IRSDC (Indian Railway Station Development Corporation). The station redevelopment will be done through public private partnership (PPP) model. The Indian Railways officials are expected to notify how much UDF will be levied in January 2020 and by 6th February 2020, tender for the above-mentioned four railway stations' redevelopment will be issued as well.