50% Concession on Train Fares for Senior Citizens, Journalists Should be Resumed: Pappu Yadav in LS

New Delhi: The government should consider resuming 50 percent concession on train fares given to senior citizens and journalists discontinued during the Covid pandemic, Independent MP Pappu Yadav said on Wednesday.

Participating in the debate on Demands for Grants for Railways in Lok Sabha, Yadav requested the government to resume concessions for senior citizens and journalists.

He also asked the government to improve the safety of trains, pointing to the growing number of rail accidents in the recent past.

Before the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, the Indian Railways offered a 50 per cent concession on train fares to senior citizens and government-accredited journalists.

Yadav also urged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who was present during the debate to focus on basic amenities and increase the number of general compartments in trains.

The Railway Minister should consider a provision for 75 percent concession for students travelling to undertake any competitive exam, he said, adding that concessions for theatre artistes should also be resumed.

Sudama Prasad (CPI-ML) asked the government to put a halt to what he said was "privatisation" of the Railways and demanded a separate budget for it.

Trains that stopped running during the Covid period should be restarted in the interest of the general public, he demanded.

K Francis George (Kerala Congress) too demanded a separate budget for the Railways.