Children below five years are entitled to travel for free if a separate berth is not utilised.
The official X account of North Western Railway has addressed an often confusing query about booking tickets for kids under the age of five with the help of a cartoon. In an X post, the North Western Railways shows a scene of a train station in which a person is asking the Ticket Collector, “Can seats be booked for children below 5 years of age?” in Hindi. The other text on this graphic read, “Seats can also be booked for children below 5 years of age. To book a seat, the passenger will have to pay the full fare.”
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As per a Railway Ministry press note, “Children under five years of age shall be carried free. However, a separate berth or seat (in chair car) shall not be given. Therefore purchase of any ticket is not required provided a separate berth is not claimed. However, if berth/seat shall be sought on a voluntary basis for children of age below 5 years then full adult fare shall be charged.”
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In simple words, one only needs to book a ticket for kids below the age of five if the kid is going to use a separate berth or a seat, if not then the child can travel for free alongside the guardian.
As per the Financial Express, in May 2022, the Indian Railways launched “Baby Berths” that were attached to the lower berths of the Lucknow Mail train. These small foldable birth could be used to hold the baby. These berths come with a stopper that prevents the baby from falling.
The official X handle of Northern Railway Lucknow Division posted photos of this new feature and wrote, “Happy Mother’s Day. A baby berth has been introduced in Coach no 194129/ B4, berth no 12 & 60 in Lucknow Mail, to facilitate mothers travelling with their baby. Fitted baby seat is foldable about hinge and is secured with a stopper.”
So far, other trains have not adopted baby berths in lower seats. There is no special process to book special seats with baby berths. However, Railrecepie reported that a passenger with a toddler can request the ticket inspector to exchange their seat with someone who is sitting on a seat that has a baby berth attached.
