Trivandrum division of rlys achieves record earnings

The Trivandrum division of Southern Railway has showed a commendable performance by registering good earnings during the 2005-06 fiscal, mainly aided by a robust growth in the goods segment. The division has recorded overall earnings to the tune of Rs 423.79 crore.

According to S Vijayakumaran, divisional railway manager, the goods traffic segment, which had recorded a drop from 3.896 million tones (MT) in 2002-03 to 1.897 MT in 2004-05, showed an improvement by reaching 2.279 MT in 2005-06. This has been achieved thanks to the more than 10 per cent growth in petrol, fertiliser and special commodities' traffic from Kochi and places like Kollam and Piravam Road.

The earnings from passenger fares have also increased from Rs 261.53 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 293.04 crore during 2005-06, a 12 percent jump. According to official statistics, the Trivandrum division has carried seven million passengers, while the Southern Railway as a whole has carried 51 million passengers.

A statement from the railways' Trivandrum division said it also achieved visible improvement on the safety front, passenger amenities, parcel handling, curbing ticketless travel and streamlining parking/circulation arrangements.