Railways earnings hit Rs 2 lk cr on higher freight loading

The Indian Railways logged ₹2.04 lakh crore in earnings so far this fiscal year, exceeding those of the same period last year by 4%. This includes ₹58,927.38 crore from coaching, ₹1.33 lakh crore from goods, and ₹7,442.78 crore from Sundry-mainly parking, catering, and advertisements. In addition, the railways earned ₹5,278.34 crore under the other coaching head which includes revenue from parcels, luggage, and wharfage charges during the period. According to official estimates, the national transporter raked in ₹10,009.31 crore in the first fortnight of January.

A senior official said the railways is exploring adjusting freight rates to further drive volumes. "We estimate higher goods earnings if fares on certain commodities are rationalisation," the official told ET.

Most of the earnings came from higher freight loading, which rose 2% to nearly 1.18 billion tonnes during April-December 2024.

There was a 3% increase in the total number of mail, express, passenger and other train services, with more than 2.07 million runs, an all-time-high.

Frequency of special trains run during periods of high demand surged 54% year-on-year during the nine-month period to 57,169. To ensure the momentum continues, the national transporter has decided to introduce a new timetable which, in a first, has 62 special trains pre-included on popular routes. Besides starting 74 new services, 34 pairs of Vande Bharat trains have been included in the new timetable.

Indian Railways is targeting an operating ratio of 98.22% by this fiscal end. If successful, this will result in a net revenue of ₹2,800 crore which will be ploughed back into the Development Fund and the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK).