Railway tickets likely to get cheaper soon

Railway fares are likely to take a plunge as the government is planning to withdraw the merchant discount rate (MDR) charges. The MDR charges are currently applicable on payments made through debit or credit card for railway bookings by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

As per an Economic Times report, the government is still mulling over removing MDR charges. If it is implemented, railway travel would be made cheaper as the prices will fall down.

The MDR charges are applicable on bookings done through the IRCTC website. The report further states that Union Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal, on Thursday said that he is currently in talks with banks to see what can be done to relieve passengers from the burden of MDRs.

The following are the MDR charges:

• The merchant discount rate (MDR) charges are applicable on payments made via debit or credit card.
• The banks charge MDR to the merchant for providing debit and credit card services.
• IRCTC passes the merchant discount rate to consumers.
• Then, the merchant sets up a service with the bank and charges a predetermined rate on the card transactions.