Students, Senior Citizens & More: How To Avail Concessions From Indian Railways!

Indian Railways, for the most part, offers a large network for viable and affordable transportation. Along with that, it offers a concession for people in need. And did you know that almost 50 categories of people can avail concessions?

So, I took to the internet to find out what concessions are available and who all can avail them.

My period of search did yield some answers. And it was, in fact, insightful. For example, girls till graduation and boys till class 12 can travel for free between home and school in Second and SL classes.

There are also concessions for farmers to the disabled, foreign tourists, to even unemployed individuals searching for a job.

Here are a few lists of different types of concessions available. You can check out the entire list here.

But my period of search soon came to a standstill with a doubt. How does anyone apply for a concession?

I was looking for details on this when I came across the Indian Railways website redirecting me to a manual called the IRCA Coaching Tariff, Part I (Vol. II) which contained information like detailed rules, procedures, entitlement, purposes, etc., for concessions.

The 500-page document, linked here, is available in Hindi as well as English and consists of a list of recognised authorities and institutions, the rules for concession and most importantly, the certificates needed to apply for a concession.

The compilation is very comprehensive, so I have added a few images of the specimen of selected certificates for your ease.

Concession certificate for patients.

Concession for students participating in particular sports events.

Concession for students traveling for specific examinations

Conditions for students travelling with concession.

As you can see, most of the certificates are addressed to the Station Manager. Other officials are specified on the certificate. You can also simply address “The authorised officer”. But the signature to authenticate your concession should be from the proper delegates, and wherever stamp is required, must be present.

There are other rules to keep in mind while availing concession, as it is only applicable for the first 300 kms, except for entrance exam students, handicapped (visually or orthopedically), paraplegic, and different types of patients listed in the manual.

Other conditions include that one cannot avail more than one concession on a journey. A return journey concession should be made by the same route. Certain concessions require the passenger to carry an authorised letter.

For more details, check out the full detailed concessions list here.

With a varied range of concessions available to students and the senior public, the national carrier is making sure to be accessible to the nation.

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

Hey, you may also like: Watch: Indian Railways Inducts 5 Futuristic Machines For Safer Train Travel!

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