ECoR announces early termination of train passing through Odisha as Indian Railways prepares for fare hike

Passengers travelling between Visakhapatnam and Kirandul via Koraput are set to face travel disruptions over the coming weeks, with the East Coast Railway (ECoR) announcing short termination and origination of trains due to ongoing maintenance work on the Kottavalasa-Kirandul (KV) section.

As per the Waltair division of Indian Railways, the Visakhapatnam-Kirandul passenger train (58501) will be short-terminated at Dantewada on June 24, 26, 30 and July 4, 8, 15, 18, 21 and 23.

The corresponding return service, Kirandul-Visakhapatnam passenger (58502), will be short-originated from Dantewada instead of Kirandul on June 25, 27 and July 1, 5, 9, 16, 19, 22 and 24.

The move is expected to impact passengers travelling deep into Chhattisgarh, especially those relying on the rail route for affordable connectivity across remote tribal regions. The railways has not announced any substitute arrangements or special trains to cover the disrupted sections.

Fare hike to take effect from July 1

The operational disruptions come at a time when Indian Railways is preparing to roll out a revised fare structure, set to take effect from July 1, 2025.

The fare revision marks the first across-the-board change in several years and is aimed at aligning operational costs with rising inflation and infrastructure demands.

While suburban commuters and monthly season ticket holders will remain unaffected, the fare hike will be applicable to long-distance travellers. For passengers on non-AC Mail and Express trains, fares will rise by 1 paise per kilometre. For AC categories, including Chair Car, 3-tier, 2-tier, and 1st AC, the hike will be 2 paise per kilometre.

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Second-class passengers travelling up to 500 kilometres will see no change. However, for journeys exceeding 500 kilometres, a modest hike of 0.5 paise per kilometre will be implemented.

This means a second-class traveller covering 1,000 km will now pay an additional Rs 2.50, while the same journey in non-AC Express will cost Rs 10 more. AC passengers would see a Rs 20 increase.