Mumbai floods drain Nashik Rly of Rs 2 cr

The Nashik Road railway administration has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 2.10 crore due to recent Mumbai floods which had completely paralysed train services. Currently, only 28 per cent train services have been restored from Nashik Road railway station.

Even after three weeks of deluge, train services to Mumbai are still not restored. Not even a single train could run to Mumbai from Nashik Road railway station since August 27 midday, as rail tracks were washed away at Shahad and Ambivali on the Nashik-Kalyan route. Train services to Mumbai may start again by August 20, while Bhusaval-bound train services have been restored to some extent as three mail trains are running upto Igatpuri.

"While Mumbai-bound train services are still paralysed some specific trains are running towards Bhusaval. Currently, three mail trains- Devgiri, Tapovan (Nanded-Igatpuri) and Sevagram (Nagpur-Igatpuri) are running upto Igatpuri. The Bhusaval-Mumbai passenger train is running upto Titwala, while Pushpak Express (from Lucknow) is running upto Nashik.

Out of 46 train services, only six are running from Nashik Road station," said a Central Railway official.The cancellation of train services have cost Nashik Road railway administration around Rs 2.10 crore. Out of this, Rs 1.16 crore was in the form of tickets and reservation refunds and the rest was due to closure of its daily recovery through sale of tickets for the last 21 days.

"The Nashik Road railway administration has refunded tickets amounting to Rs 46 lakh and reservations upto Rs 70 lakh. With an average of ticket sale worth Rs 4 lakh per day, it has taken a hit of Rs 84 lakh in ticket sales alone in the last 21 days," said sources from Central Railway. Nearly 5,500-6,000 passengers travel to Mumbai daily from Nashik Road, of which 2,500 are monthly pass holders.

Around 3,000-4,000 passengers travel daily in Bhusaval-bound trains. Around 1,500 platform tickets are sold here daily and a single ticket costs Rs 3. Currently, the sale of platform tickets has come down by 50 per cent.

"The Nashik Road railway administration earns revenue around Rs 13-14 lakh daily. But, due to cancellation of Mumbai-bound trains, it has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 4 lakh per day," said Rathor, station manager, Nashik Road.

Other services taking a hit are rickshaws, taxis and buses which depend on train services. But, MSRTC which has pressed 180 buses into service between Nashik and Mumbai is earning Rs 15-16 lakh.