The railway network in Kerala has incurred a loss of over ₹800 crore since March 24 when train services were suspended owing to COVID-19-induced lockdown.
The two railway divisions headquartered in the State, Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad, depend on passenger earnings. The suspension of train services for the past three-and-a-half months dealt a heavy blow to Railways and the total loss of the entire railway network is estimated at ₹75,000 crore.
Austerity measures
The revenue loss will be reflected in the ongoing development projects. The Railway Board has already asked the zonal and divisional railway authorities to adopt austerity measures as uncertainty prevails over the restoration of long-distance train services.
In the Thiruvananthapuram railway division that runs 167 trains, the monthly loss is ₹140 crore and the adjoining Palakkad division, which operates 170 trains, has incurred a loss of ₹95 crore. “The loss is primarily owing to the sharp fall in passenger earnings,” says Thiruvananthapuram Divisional Railway Manager Shirish Kumar Sinha.
Compared to the ₹100-crore monthly passenger earnings received, the division got just ₹2 crore in June. The revenue from goods trains during the 30 days in June was ₹30 crore. “We hope the revenue from the goods train movement will touch ₹35 to ₹40 crore in the next two months as more and more goods trains are on the track,” Mr. Sinha said.
In the Palakkad railway division that stretches beyond the geographical border of Kerala, the earnings for April, May, and June were ₹47.07 crore compared to ₹254.44 crore during the same period in 2019. It is 81.50% less compared to the same period last year.
The Shramik Specials operated for the movement of migrant labourers during the lockdown, goods trains, and the 100 pairs of long-distance mail and express trains had not netted much revenue for the railways. “In Kerala, the patronage for the intercity Jan Shatabdi Expresses and other inter-State trains like Netravathi and Mangala Expresses is less than 50%,” Mr. Sinha said. Fear prevailing among citizens to travel and the spurt in COVID-19 cases are cited as the main reasons.
