Indian Railways earned a revenue of Rs 13,398.92 crore from passenger fares.

Indian Railways sees major dip in earnings! In the second quarter of the current fiscal, the national transporter saw a dip of Rs 155 crore and Rs 3,901 crore in passenger and freight fare earnings respectively compared to the previous one. According to a reply to an RTI query filed by activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur, in the first quarter that is the period from April to June of the financial year 2019-20, Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways earned a revenue of Rs 13,398.92 crore from passenger fares. The figure dipped to Rs 13,243.81 crore in the July-September quarter. Similarly, in the first quarter, the national transporter earned an amount of Rs 29,066.92 crore from freight loading. While, in the second quarter, the freight earnings came down to Rs 25,165.13 crore.

According to a PTI report, the slowdown also affected ticket bookings, which witnessed a decline of 1.27 per cent in the period from April to September 2019, as compared to last year’s corresponding period. During this period, even suburban rail travel earnings showed a decline of 1.13 per cent as compared to last year.

In a bid to counter the slowdown, Indian Railways has initiated a slew of measures. Recently, the national transporter waived its “busy season” surcharge on freight traffic, implemented a scheme offering a concession to passengers of up to 25 per cent on trains with AC chair car and executive class sitting. Also, it launched initiatives to phase out 30-year-old diesel engines, generate non-fare revenue, cut down on fuel bills, as well as monetise its land holdings.

Last month, the Railway Board in a letter urged all the 17 zonal railways to take steps to counter the slowdown. A senior railway official was quoted in the report claiming that measures have been taken to offset such losses and Indian Railways will come out stronger.