Railway revenue surpasses Rs 1.5 tn as freight hits Rs 1 tn Mark

The revenue of the Railways is poised to surpass Rs 1.5 trillion, a day after freight earnings reached the Rs 1 trillion milestone. While overall revenues have increased by 6.5% during the current fiscal year, they fall short of the annual growth target of over 9% for 2023-24. Railway officials, nonetheless, express confidence that the annual target will be achieved as goods loading is expected to rise post-rains, given the sustained buoyancy in economic activity. In the financial year up to October 13, passenger revenue reached Rs 431.01 billion. Reserved passengers played a significant role in generating 7% higher earnings of Rs 318.75 billion, despite a 4.7% decrease in the number of passengers to 474 million. This suggests that the revenue per passenger has increased, particularly with the introduction of trains such as Vande Bharat. Earnings from the unreserved category increased by 3.8% to Rs 113.26 billion, accompanied by a 12% rise in traffic to 3.66 billion. In terms of volume, freight loading saw a 3.7% increase to 940 MT during the fiscal year up to October 14, according to data sourced from the railways. Revenue from coal, a key component, witnessed a 3.3% rise to nearly Rs 510 billion, while loading increased by 5.5% to 463 million tonnes.