Rail passenger revenue zooms 76% YoY, speeds past pre-Covid levels

Unreserved tickets garner 422% more; bookings still 72% of pre-pandemic period

The Indian Railways has recorded 76 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in its passenger revenue in the first eight months of this financial year. The national transporter garnered Rs 43,324 crore from its passenger services until November, against Rs 24,631 crore in the corresponding period last year, according to provisional data by the Ministry of Railways.
 

Proceeds from the reserved segment of the Railways grew by 50 per cent YoY to Rs 34,303 crore as against Rs 22,904 crore during the same period last fiscal year. Unreserved tickets, which had been in short supply during the two Covid years of FY21 and FY22, have garnered 422 per cent more YoY at 9,021 crore.

The aforementioned revenue during April-November 2022 is much higher than that generated during the same periods in 2018 and 2019, indicating a significant boost in the passenger revenue. While the Railways garnered Rs 33,900 crore during April-November in 2018, it generated Rs 35,255 crore during the same months 2019. 

While the monetary contribution of reserved passengers was substantial, their share in passenger volume was much less. “In the reserved passenger segment, total approximate number of passengers booked during the period April 1 to November 30, 2022, is 5,365 lakh (536.5 million), as compared to 4,860 lakh (486 million) during the same period last year, showing an increase of 10 per cent,” the Railways said. 

The April-November ridership in the unreserved section rose to “35,273 lakh (3.5 billion)” as compared to “13,813 lakh (1.38 billion)” during the same period last year, showing an increase of 155 per cent.

According to railway experts, while footfall has certainly increased as the effects of Covid-19 have waned, the rise in revenue can also be attributed to the effective hike in fares by the Railways this year. The national transporter, in October, gave 130 trains the status of ‘mail/superfast’, essentially making them subject to higher fares under the Railways’ rules.

While the passenger revenue of the national transporter has gone up owing to growth in the reserved segment, which accounts for the costlier AC and sleeper tickets, the overall passenger volume continues to play catch-up with the pre-pandemic period.

Current passenger bookings in this financial year, so far, stand at 4.06 billion, which is 72 per cent of the pre-pandemic level of 5.57 billion. The figure for the suburban segment, which includes local and other railway networks, currently stands at 2.16 billion, having seen a steady recovery after rural mobility suffered the brunt of the Covid-19 restrictions and prioritisation of goods trains during periods, such as the coal crisis. This segment is still 20 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic level of 2.73 billion.
 

The non-suburban segment, which also includes mail and superfast trains, continues to be a laggard, even as the railway network has faced congestion in the past months. Passenger bookings in non-suburban trains during April-October 2019 stood at 2.13 billion, against 1.45 billion until October 2022. Segment-wise passenger booking data for November has not been made available yet.