The Railways earned Rs 17,526.48 crore from special train services in 2021-22, which is almost 45 per cent of the total passenger revenue in the financial year, an RTI reply has revealed.
The Railways ran only special train services when it resumed passenger train operations post the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020 in a bid to discourage people from travelling in the pandemic.
According to the reply to an RTI application filed by Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the Railways said that in the pre-pandemic year of 2019-2020, it earned Rs 804.78 crore from running special trains, in the pandemic year of 2020-21, the amount soared to Rs 12,02,7.81 crore and in 2021-22, the revenue was Rs 17,526.48 crore.
From the sale of passenger tickets, the Railways generated a total revenue of Rs 50,669.09 crore in 2019-2020 that dropped to Rs 15,248.49 crore in the following year hit by the Covid pandemic.
The special trains, which are usually operated during festivals or during all India exams or certain special events, come at a increased fare. While the Railways was running all its services under the special train tag since the outbreak, it normalised operations on November 2021.
The RTI shows that in 2021-22, the revenue from passenger trains also increased substantially over the four quarters as more special trains were introduced. In the first quarter of FY 2021-22, the passenger revenue was Rs 4,921.11 crore, 10,513.07 crore in the second, Rs 11,873.42 crore in the third and in the final quarter it was Rs 11,796.81 crore, taking the total to around Rs 39,104.41 crore for the year.
(With PTI inputs)
