(This story originally appeared in on Jun 14, 2016)

MUMBAI: The railway board 's decision to charge full fare for children between five and 12 years of age if a separate seat or berth is sought has proved to be money spinner, besides making lakhs of seats available to adult passengers.Earlier, children in this age group were entitled to a separate seat or berth at half the fare.According to the available data, Central and Western railways have cumulatively earned Rs 20 crore since April 22, when the revised rule came into effect."Around 5.5 lakh children travelled on CR and WR without a confirmed berth in the last two months. This means lakhs of seats were available for other passengers. This is like notionally adding several coaches in the system," said a senior railway official. "The decision is paying rich dividends; at least during this peak season period."The railways had decided to implement the change in the child fare rule with an intention to make available two crore additional confirmed berths or seats in a year for other passengers without the state-run transporter spending a single paise. The decision was also in anticipation that it could help the cashstrapped railways earn over Rs 525 crore annually . In 2014-15, 2.11crore children between five and 12 years of age occupied berths on half fare.The half rate for children is still available, but without a seat or berth. In such cases, parents or the accompanying passenger will have to share their reserved space with the child. Kids under five years of age will continue to enjoy free train ride (without a berth).The rule has elicited mixed reactions from citizens. "It is unfair to charge full fare for children. Profit should not be only motive of the railways" said KP Babu from Mulund.Kurla resident Rakesh Desai disagrees. "It is a good move as more berths are being made available. It's a small sacrifice if more people can travel on confirmed tickets."