Railways achieves over 99% of FY15 estimated Revenue Target
New Delhi: Indian Railways (IR) have managed to achieve more than 99% of its estimated revenue target in FY15 albeit a declining passenger traffic onboard thanks to a 14.2% hike in passenger fares and higher than estimated freight revenue.
Total earnings grew by 12.2% to Rs.1,57,881 crore from Rs.1,40,761 crore in FY14. Its freight revenue went up to Rs.1,07,075 crore, beating the revised estimates (RE) by Rs.148 crore.
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FY15, the earning in the passenger segment has grown by some 14.4% to Rs.42,866 crore compared to Rs.37,478 crore the year before. Though IR’s passenger traffic has declined by 2.34% to 822.8 crore in FY15, it managed to achieve its revenue target in that segment — mainly helped by the increase in fares last June. Railways carried some 842.5 crore people in 2013-14.
Earlier in the FY14 budget, IR revised its fare rates for passengers and freight traffic. Apart from increasing its passenger fares, railways hiked the freight rates, on an average, by 6.5%.
Declining growth of passenger traffic in the Indian Railways is an issue the transporter is struggling to address for the past few years. Since FY13, the passenger segment has witnessed stagnation in traffic growth. While in FY14 passenger traffic remained flat compared to FY13, in 2014-15 it declined — first time in at least a decade.
Keeping the trend in mind, the railways revised its target for passenger traffic for FY15 to 835 crore from 864.5 crore estimated in the budget.
Recent reports by various expert committees have pointed out that the trend of declining share for railways of total passenger traffic in the country. While in 1951, IR’s share in the total passenger traffic was more than 74%, in 2011-12, it went down to 10%. Inadequate passenger amenities and IR’s failure in providing additional services to its customers during the journey have led people choose other options, they said.
Since taking charge, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has expressed his concerns regarding IR’s outdated services and lack of passenger amenities and has stressed on the need for modenisation and consolidation.
Revenue from freights, however, have grown by some 13% in FY15 — maintaining its two-third share in railways’ total earnings.

No FOBs in Cotton Green railway station, passengers risk lives to move from one platform to other
Even as the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation has undertaken extension of platforms on the harbour line to accommodate 12-car rakes, the basic necessity of a Foot Over Bridge (FOB) seems to have been neglected at the Cotton Green railway station. In the absence of an FOB to connect the platforms 1 and 2 at Cotton Green, thousands of commuters have to risk their lives every day by crossing the tracks to move from one platform to another.
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take home tuitions and I have been travelling by train from my Sandhurst Road residence to Cotton Green, where my students stay, every day for the past 15 years. As there is no FOB at Cotton Green, I have to risk my life on a daily basis. This seems to have been ignored by the authorities and they need to plan something immediately,” said Avinash Singh, a teacher by profession.
“I have seen many women and children commuters also crossing the track as there is no other option,” businessman Pravin Bamras added.
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Recently, a study report by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) revealed that the railways had witnessed 36,125 deaths between 2001 and 2010. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had, in his budget speech, said that necessary action would be taken to prevent accidents, and that emphasis would be given on saving lives of commuters.
When contacted, MRVC spokesperson Prabhat Ranjan said that no FOB was being built at the Cotton Green. “We are at present working on extension of platforms for 12 car trains on the harbour line. However, no FOB is being built,” he said.
mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

Let private firms invest in Indian rail rolling stock: Panel
A panel tasked with finding new avenues for raising the Indian Railways’ revenue, reducing its expenditure and monetising its assets has recommended that the transporter should cease to make direct investments in wagons, locomotives and passenger trains and let the private sector fund the rolling stock.
Currently, the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) which borrows for the railways, owns the rolling stock procured and receive lease rentals from the transporter.
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a public-private partnership (PPP) model, the private companies as train operators can realise revenue as passenger fares and freight from the users and share it with the the railways as track access charges, experts said.
They added that the new model would require a regulator to ensure the compatibility of the tracks with the modern trains that the private sector will likely bring in. The railways, of course, will need to run trains in sectors and routes where private interest is absent.
The DK Mittal committee, which submitted its report to the government a few weeks ago, also suggested a sharp increase in market borrowings by the IRFC to an annual R25,000 crore (more than double the level in FY15) and external commercial borrowings (ECBs) by railway PSUs like IRCON and RITES to fund “capital expenditure”.
The cash-strapped transporter, producing meagre surpluses, spent a below-par R65,798 crore for capital investments in FY15 but in the 2015-16 Budget, railway minister Suresh Prabhu laid the road map for a huge R8.5-lakh-crore capital investment in the rail network and complementary facilities over the next five years, pinning hopes on investments from PSUs, multilateral funding and pension and insurance funds.
According to the Mittal panel, the railways’ non-fare revenue needs to be increased from an abysmal 3% now to 10-20% in a time-bound manner.
Stating that a 10% of non-fare revenue would mean a substantial Rs 15,000 crore, the panel listed ways to achieve the target: monetisation of non-operating assets like vacant land (seen at 48,000 hectares), giving advertisement rights to aggregators (corporate houses may be allowed to brand trains and stations) and station-development (suburban stations must utilise their Floor Area Ratio to create commercial space). “The potential of Rs 8,000 crore per annum (as non-fare revenue) can be realised over the next 3-4 years, if IR starts to have appropriate emphasis, time-bound plans and targets, and allocates resources with adequate autonomy for the same. Target should be 5% of tariff based revenue in 2016-17 and 10% in 2020-21,” the panel said.
Suggesting the ways to expedite monetisation of vacant railways land, the panel said identification of such land should be completed by September 2015 and stressed that 1,000 hectares of land should be entrusted with the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) every year for leasing out. The RLDA set up in 2007, has so far been given just 900 hecrates of land, scattered over 100 cities and towns and has generated a measly Rs 1,370 crore as lease rentals. (Recently, 590 hectares of these land was taken back from RLDA by the Railway Board for lack of clear titles; while the RLDA says it is adequately empowered to get the states change the land use, the railways blame other factors including lack of due diligence by the authority).
According to the Mittal committee, the RLDA needs to be empowered with suitable delegations of powers. “The Railways should make a policy to allow RLDA to decide on use of such lands, which are not needed for its use, for residential, commercial or mixed use, to maximise the revenues, without approval from Railway Board,” it said.
The panel added that the RLDA should be authorised to execute transfer of land to state government on behalf of Railways Board for getting land use change approval from them. “Railway should write to the concerned department of state governments which deals with Master Planning indicating provisions of Indian Railways Act about land use with the request to permit change of land use on the request of RLDA.”
Calling for creation of record of land inventory, the panel said it needs to be digitised and mapped to a GIS database. “The land that is not required now and is identified as not required even in the future needs to be handed over to RLDA, along with land of the narrow gauge /metre gauge lines which have been discontinued in part or full. Unused land around microwave tower/stations should also be leveraged after dismantling of such towers.”
Given the high level of cross-subsidisation of passenger segment, the panel proposed a policy framework where fares can increase at the rate of 25% of consumer price inflation on a quarterly basis. “Tariff should be increased by 2 paise per passenger kilo metre every 2months for Second class tickets (including suburban and intercity trains) till break-even point is reached. This is in addition to normal annual increases,” it said.
According to the panel, the number of coaches for all trans, where demand exists, should be immediately increased to 21, then to 24 and further to 26/28, subject to demand. “Preference for incremental coaches should be given to AC3 tier subject to demand on that route.” Average speed of all long-distance trains, according to the panel, should be increased to more than 55 kmph. At present, average speed of mail express is 50.4 kmph, passenger trains 36.1 kmph and freight trains is 25 kmph.
The panel said the exports by railway PSUs (of locomotives etc. to African and some Asian countries) could be increased from around Rs 1,000 crore now to Rs 5,000 crore by FY17 with 10% growth in subsequent years. Analysts, however, doubted the feasibility of achieving such a jump in exports, citing intense competition from China which provides export credit to their railway infrastructure exporters. It said IRFC should be given access to Rural Infrastructure Development Fund by the Reserve Bank of India. The firm has financial assets worth Rs 75,000 crore at present.

In a move to ease congestion and to accommodate more trains, a new platform is being constructed at the Chandigarh railway station. With this addition, the number of platforms will increase to six.
Divisional Railway Manager (Ambala) A K Kathpal said that necessary funds for the project had been sanctioned by the rail ministry and construction was expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Platform number six is being constructed towards the Panchkula side, and will be 600 metres long and 12 metres wide. For this, the Railways is also...
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planning to relocate the two-wheeler parking lot to accommodate more space for building the platform. Along with the upcoming platform, a new rail-road line is also being established to connect the platform to the main rail-line.
The new platform will have similar facilities like platform number 1. Its connectivity to the other platforms will be through the existing foot overbridge.
Explaining the need for the new platform, Station Superintendent R K Dutta stated that after the railway line between New Morinda and Sahnewal was completed in August 2013, the frequency of trains had increased.
“Additionally, with the proposed doubling of Dappar-Chandigarh track and Yamunanagar-Chandigarh line via Sadaura, more rail connectivity was expected and a new platform would help in catering to the overall expansion,” he said.
A senior official at the Northern Railways stated that construction of general ticket counters, an upper class and second class waiting hall, commercial stalls and platform-sheds were in the planning stages for the new platform, and designs were being finalised.