IN THE FIVE years since Covid-19, the place Indian Railways will get its passenger revenues from, has seen a elementary transformation. The variety of passengers travelling AC 3-tier is simply 26 crore, or 3.5 per cent of the entire 727 crore passengers (together with suburban), however generates Rs 30,089 crore or 38 per cent of the Rs 80,000 crore whole passenger revenues estimated in 2024-25.
The excessive revenues from AC 3-tier displays in some sense ‘upward mobility’ — extra individuals aspiring to journey effectively. Moreover Railways’ higher pricing energy, the 19.5 per cent compounded annual development fee (CAGR) in AC 3-tier revenues over 5 years may be attributed largely to a rise within the variety of passengers keen to spend more cash.
From 11 crore AC 3-tier passengers in 2019-20 (1.4 per cent of whole passengers), the variety of AC 3-tier passengers registered a CAGR of just about 19 per cent to 26 crore in 2024-25. The revenues from AC 3-tier jumped to Rs 30,089 crore this 12 months from Rs 12,370 crore in 2019-20.
Within the pre-pandemic 12 months, i.e., 2019-20, passengers travelling Second Class Sleeper (Second Class ticket with a berth to sleep) had been the best contributor to the entire passenger revenues. They contributed Rs 13,641 crore (greater than one-fourth or 27 per cent of whole revenues of Rs 50,669 crore), however had been simply 37 crore or 4.6 per cent of whole 809 crore passengers who travelled by rail that 12 months.
However this 12 months, i.e., 2024-25, the variety of passengers travelling Sleeper Class, generated Rs 15,603 crore or 19.5 per cent of whole revenues. They had been nonetheless 38 crore passengers or simply 5.25 per cent of the entire variety of passengers who travelled by the Railways through the 12 months.
A better have a look at Railways’ passenger knowledge from 2019-20 to 2024-25 reveals that whereas the AC 3-tier fares have gone up during the last 5 years, the typical share improve is decrease in contrast with AC First Class, AC 2-tier and AC Chair Automobile, and in addition the Sleeper Class.
For AC 3-tier, the fare per passenger elevated 7.4 per cent to Rs 1,171 in 2024-25 from Rs 1,090 in 2019-20; for AC First Class 25.38 per cent, AC Chair Automobile (23.24 per cent) after which AC 2-tier (18.22 per cent) within the final 5 years. Within the case of AC First Class and AC Chair Automobile premium coaches, the fare per passenger elevated by Rs 458 and Rs 119, respectively, during the last 5 years. For AC 2-tier, it elevated to Rs 1,498 in 2024-25 from Rs 1,267 in 2019-20. The Sleeper Class witnessed a rise of 10.64 per cent in fares within the final 5 years.
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What has additionally modified is the combo of rail travellers viz., these travelling AC (AC I Class, AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier and AC Chair Automobile) and non-AC (Second Class Sleeper, Second Class Mail & Specific, Second Class Strange and Suburban) lessons. In 2019-20, the variety of AC passengers had been 18 crore, and this greater than doubled to 38 crore in 2024-25. The variety of non-AC class passengers, nonetheless, dropped from 790 crore in 2019-20 to 688 crore in 2024-25.
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