Indian Railways' Passenger Occupancy Touches 80% After Drop in COVID-19 Cases

The coronavirus cases across India have dropped and as a result, the lockdown regulations have also been eased. This has led to more people booking train tickets for their commute. The Indian Railways has also increased its capacity utilisation keeping in view the current situation. This has brought relief to many travellers as the majority of the trains have started running on important routes. The Ministry of Railways informed a media outlet that occupancy of passengers has increased to around 80% from March.

According to a report published in Money Control, The Indian Railways is running approximately 1,490 mail and express trains and 947 passenger trains. The booking of tickets through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp Ltd (IRCTC) has also touched 800,000 daily after dropping down to nearly 500,000 tickets per day in May. The ministry also revealed that approximately 90 per cent of its tickets are booked through the IRCTC portal.

As per an official associated with the department, the issues surrounding the functioning of trains have already been discussed with the state government. They have also mentioned the trains have restarted entirely on the basis of demand by people. In order to ensure safety, the Indian Railways does random tests and checks in containment zones. The official also added that demand for trains is likely to increase during the festival season.

Furthermore, the railways are also discussing the possibility of restarting local train services across India. If the official is to be believed then the local suburban train service from Delhi to various cities including Palwal, Mahendragarh, Sonipat, Gurugram etc will restart from next month.

Previously, the Indian Railways had declared a decrease of Rs 32,768.97 crore in its revenue from passenger operations. This comparison was done on the basis of the revenue generated in 2019-20 vis-a-vis 2020-21. The main cause of the decline in revenue was the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

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