Indian Railway Senior Citizen Rule: In India, going from one place to another has become very easy through train, which provides many facilities at low cost. Therefore Indian Railways is considered the lifeline of the country. At the same time, Indian Railways is more kind to the elders i.e. senior citizens of the country. They are given many types of special facilities. So let us know what facilities senior citizens can avail while traveling in Indian Railways (Senior citizens get many facilities in Indian Railways).
Who are senior citizens?
According to the rules of Indian Railways, men aged 60 years or above and women aged 58 years or above have been kept in the category of senior citizens.
According to which, male senior citizens get 40 percent discount in Indian Railway fares, while female senior citizens get 50 percent discount in fares. This discount is available in trains like Mail, Express, Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto etc.
Lower berth facility is available
Among the facilities available in the train for senior citizens, the facility of lower berth is available, which provides a lot of convenience to the senior citizens during the journey. Under this facility, if a senior citizen male chooses a lower berth, then the Railways will allot him a lower berth.
According to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, senior citizens get the facility of confirmed lower berth. Railways have separate rules for this. Whereas among senior citizens, women above 45 years of age will get lower berth seat without selecting lower berth.
Lower berth is reserved
According to railway rules, 6 lower berths have been reserved in the sleeper category for female senior citizens and pregnant women. Along with this, 4-5 lower seats are reserved in every coach of 3 AC, 3-4 lower berths are reserved in every coach of 2 AC.
Not only this, if any senior citizens or disabled people have got upper berth, then in such a situation they can request for lower berth by asking TTE before the train starts on the platform. If any lower berth is vacant then TTE will allot them lower berth as per rules after completing some formalities.
Wheelchairs at railway stations
Most of the major railway stations in the country have wheelchair facilities for senior citizens. For this, you can demand a wheelchair from the concerned station master or station manager. A wheelchair will be available upon request. You may have to make some payment to the porter for this.
You can also make online booking to avail this facility. For this you will have to log in to www.irctc.co.in. Along with this, senior citizens suffering from illness get seats sooner than others at the time of ticket reservation.
