IRCTC, IRFC, RVNL: Railway stocks zoom up to 12% as fare hikes come into effect; details investors, passengers must know

Last seen, Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) shares rallied as much as 11.77% to hit a high of ₹386.40 apiece on the NSE, while IRCTC was up 2.75% at ₹698.35. Ircon International shares were up over 8% at ₹184.72. RITES was trading around 5% higher at ₹254.44.

Titagarh Rail Systems shares were up over 5% at ₹900.50, while BEML was up 2.4% at ₹1,913.50.

Jupiter Wagons was trading at ₹352.15, up 3.39% on the NSE.

This is the second time in a year that the ministry has revised passenger train fares. The earlier fare hike was implemented in July.

Justifying its decision, the ministry stated that the rationalising of fares has 'the objective of balancing affordability for passengers and sustainability of operations'.

Here are the details you need to know

“Under the revised fare structure, there is no change in fares for suburban services and season tickets, including both suburban and non-suburban routes. For ordinary non-AC (non-suburban) services, fares have been rationalised in a graded manner across second class ordinary, sleeper class ordinary, and first class ordinary," the ministry said in a statement.

It added, "In second class ordinary, there is no increase in fare for journeys up to 215 km, ensuring that short-distance and daily commuters are not impacted. For distances from 216 km to 750 km, the fare increases by ₹5. For longer journeys, the increase is applied in steps -- ₹10 for distances between 751 km and 1250 km, ₹15 for distances between 1251 km and 1750 km, and ₹20 for distances between 1751 km and 2250 km."

According to the ministry, fares for sleeper class ordinary and first class ordinary have been revised uniformly at the rate of 1 paise per kilometre for non-suburban journeys, ensuring a gradual and limited increase in ticket prices.

It stated that in mail/express trains, the fare increase has been rationalised at 2 paise per kilometre across non-AC and AC classes.

"This includes sleeper class, first class, AC chair car, AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier, and AC first class. As an illustration, for a 500 km journey in non-AC mail/express coaches, passengers will pay only about Rs 10 extra," the statement said.

Where is this applicable?

The official notification said that the existing basic fares of major train services, including Tejas Rajdhani, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Humsafar, Amrit Bharat, Tejas, Mahamana, Gatimaan, Antyodaya, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva Express, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, and ordinary non-suburban services (excluding AC MEMU/DEMU, where applicable), have been revised in line with the approved class-wise basic fare increases.

"The revised fares are applicable only on tickets booked on or after 26 December 2025. Tickets booked prior to this date will not attract any additional charges, even if the journey is undertaken after the effective date," it added.

The fare list displayed at stations will also be updated to reflect the new fares effective from December 26.

According to the Railway Ministry, the previous fare hike in July 2025 has generated ₹700 crore in revenue to date.

Railway stocks in focus

Ever since the government announced a hike in railway fares, rail stocks have been buzzing. Besides, rail stocks have been in focus on expectations around budget allocations for the sector in the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27 (FY27).