Vande Bharat costs ₹2.19 a km, ordinary class 20 paise: What India's trains charge per km

Indian Railways fares differ widely by train and class, and per-km figures make them easy to compare. We put together the rates the Railway Minister gave Parliament and those in the Railway Board circular for the Vande Bharat sleeper. Fares shown are base figures; GST and reservation charges can be extra.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on 11 February 2026 that ordinary-class fares in India are 20 paise a km. He put the figure at 54 paise in Pakistan, 37 paise in Bangladesh and 51 paise in Sri Lanka, ThePrint reported, citing PTI.

In the same reply, Vaishnaw said a Vande Bharat AC chair car journey of 300-400 km costs about ₹2.19 a km. That is about 11 times the ordinary-class rate. A 350 km trip at that rate comes to about ₹767. He said comparable high-speed services in China, Japan and France cost ₹7-20 a km.

The Vande Bharat sleeper charges ₹2.40 a km in AC 3-tier, ₹3.10 in AC 2-tier and ₹3.80 in first AC, Business Standard reported from a Railway Board circular in January 2026. The minimum chargeable distance is 400 km, so the lowest fares are ₹960, ₹1,240 and ₹1,520. GST is extra.

The CSMT–Delhi Rajdhani charges about ₹2.10 a km in AC 3-tier, ₹2.85 in AC 2-tier and ₹3.53 in first AC, according to Business Standard. Over 1,000 km, the Vande Bharat sleeper costs about ₹300 more in AC 3-tier, ₹250 more in AC 2-tier and ₹270 more in first AC.

Indian Railways raised fares from 26 December 2025. Ordinary-class fares for journeys up to 215 km were left unchanged and rose by 1 paisa a km beyond that. Mail and express non-AC and all AC classes rose by 2 paise a km, News On AIR reported. Suburban and season tickets did not change. On a 1,000 km AC journey, that adds about ₹20.

The per-km rate is only a guide. Short Vande Bharat sleeper trips are charged for at least 400 km, which raises the real per-km cost. Check the final fare, including GST and catering choices, on IRCTC for your route and date, and compare it with the Rajdhani or other trains on the same route.