Tea in train
Representative image. Photo credit - Financial Express

The railway passengers, who travel by trains across India, now will have to pay more prices against the tea and coffee served to them in trains.

As per a new circular issued by the Indian Railways, the price of a 150-ml cup of tea with a tea bag has been increased to Rs 10 from existing Rs 7.  In the same way, a 150-ml coffee using instant powder mix has been fixed at Rs 10.

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A report published on Thursday by News Nation stated that the ready-made standard tea, as per the circular, will be continued to be sold at Rs 5 per cup.

However, the Indian Railways has decided to discontinue the practice of serving tea in pots.

The revised prices of tea are inclusive of GST.

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The circular read: โ€œSince the tariff of standard food items fixed and notified earlier are inclusive of applicable taxes as per prevailing Central/State Government instructions from time to time i.e, service tax on outdoor catering/GST since introduction, the revised tariff of tea/coffee is also inclusive of GST as per the extant instructions. Therefore licensee/service providers will not collect any amount other than the fixed tariff.โ€

The report quoted a railway officer as saying: โ€œIt was a proposal from the IRCTC which was approved by the Railway Board. It is a minimal hike. We decided to discontinue the pot system as not many were ordering it anyway. We are trying to cut down on many things that are mere frills.โ€

It may be mentioned that the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) serves food in nearly 350 trains having pantry cars.

However, the price changes wonโ€™t affect Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express as the food package in trains are prepaid, the report added.