Indian Railways passenger traffic is not yet back to pre-Covid levels. An over 5 per cent y-o-y growth in FY24 to 683 crore notwithstanding, Railway passenger traffic in FY20 – the pre-Covid year – was over 800 crore, data from the Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in the Parliament on Monday shows.
Among the ambitious projects taken up by the Indian Railways, at least 41 per cent work on the Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (Bullet Train) that covers 508 km of length is completed. An expenditure of ₹59,291 crore has been incurred on the project till March-end.
The Economic Survey notes that high-speed, long-distance Vande sleeper trainset coaches — with features like quick acceleration, diffused lighting, automatic doors and Global Positioning System-based passenger information system — are under development.
Railways is also planning to introduce Vande metro train-set coaches with features such as sealed wider gangways, centrally controlled automatic sliding doors, CCTVs for safety and surveillance, route map indicator, passenger information & infotainment systems. The first set of such trains are expected in FY25
Improvement in freight traffic
However, freight traffic – the key revenue earner for the Railways – has increased significantly. In FY24, freight traffic was 1,588 million tonnes (MT) of revenue-earning freight, up 5.3 per cent y-o-y.
“The freight loadings of the railways achieved CAGR of 7.1 per cent from FY20 to FY24, with the special emphasis on capacity addition, new rolling stock and improving operational efficiencies,” the Survey noted.
Going forward, the three upcoming dedicated corridors — a high-traffic density one, for energy, mineral and cement movement and Eail Sagar (port connectivity) — are set to help reduced logistics cost, carbon footprint and boost freight volumes.
GatiShakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT) is being developed by private players on the railway and non-railway land, based on demand from industry and the potential of cargo traffic. 77 GCTs have been commissioned and in-principle approvals have been issued for 186 locations on non-railway land as of March 31, 2024.
“The key focus areas for Railways include fast capacity augmentation, modernisation of rolling stock and maintenance, improving quality of services and energy efficiency. In line with this, investments are prioritised in areas like dedicated freight corridors, high-speed rail, modern passenger services like Vande Bharat...and last-mile rail linkages,” the Survey noted.
Production for both locomotives and wagons in FY24 was around 1,400, units amongst the highest in recent years. In FY23, locomotives and wagon production was 850.
Capital expenditure by Indian Railways has also gone up by over 77 per cent in the past 5 years (with ₹2.62-lakh crore being allocated in FY24, as against ₹1.48-lakh crore in FY20). There have been significant investments in the construction of new lines, gauge conversion and doubling too.