Railways officials are considering an internal committee’s recommendations, which may make it cheaper for railway passengers who have planned their journey in advance. The Railways fare review committee, which submitted its report earlier in January, had suggested graded discounts depending on the number of vacant seats in a train, a concept that is similar to airlines which offer heavy discounts to passengers if they book their tickets months in advance. The committee recommended discounts from 20 per cent to 50 per cent depending on the number of vacant seats available at the time of booking, the Press Trust of India reported.

Here are five things to know about the recommendations by the Railways fare committee:

The panel has also proposed discounts for tickets booked after charting. It has said that discounts can be offered in slots from two days to two hours before the departure of the train.

The committee has also said that passengers will have to pay more for choosing lower berths, just like air travelers pay more for front-row seats. However, officials say that senior citizens, people with disabilities and pregnant women could be allotted these seats free of charge.

The committee has also suggested that fares be increased for those trains, which reach their destinations at “convenient” times such as early morning as against those that arrive at “odd hours” for example between 0000 and 0400 hours and 1300 and 1700 hours, the officials said.

The committee has also recommended that instead of having flat fares, the railways should increase fares during festive seasons, and reduce them during lean months.

The committee consists of some Railway Board officials, NITI Aayog adviser Ravinder Goyal, Executive Director (Revenue Management) of Air India Meenakshi Malik, professor S Sriram, and Iti Mani, Director, Revenue, Le Meridien, Delhi.