RAILWAY BUDGET 2008-09
Several new concessions have been announced for rail travel. These include extension of the scheme of free monthly season tickets for students, concession for senior lady citizens, concession for Ashok Chakra Awardees and for AIDS affected persons.
Extended concessions for students include free monthly season tickets for girl students up to graduation and for boy students up to 12th standard. At present, free monthly season tickets for second class travel between school and home are provided to girl students up to 12th standard and boy students up to 10th standard. The Union Railway Minister, Shri Lalu Prasad also announced that passenger fare concession for lady senior citizens will be increased to 50% from 30% at present for all classes of travel.
Ashok Chakra awardees will now be provided facility to travel in Rajdhani and Shatabadi trains on card passes. For AIDS patients, a concession of 50% has been announced in second class passenger fares for travel to nominated ART centres for treatment.
Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and Indian Railways will collaborate in running a Mother-Child Health Express of seven coaches on a pilot bases for providing medical facilities to the mother and the child. This train will be run by railways at concessional fares and would have facilities like delivery operation room and child health centre.
OK/NNK/AS/2
(Release ID :35585)