Indian Railways in 2021:

• * Earnings: $16 billion from freight transportation.

• * Ambition: Increase freight share to 45% of the economy, boosting GDP by 1.5%.

• * Progress: 18% jump in freight loading compared to the previous year (until December 2021).

• * Future outlook: Seen as a key driver of India's economic growth.

• * Infrastructure improvement: 5x increase in capital spending compared to 2014, aiming for full electrification by 2023.

• * Long-term goal: Transform into a modern railway system with a significantly larger share of freight transportation.

 

 

Indian Railways See Passenger Traffic Lag Behind Pre-Pandemic Levels:

* Despite having 58,580 lakh passengers in 2022-23, Indian Railways still haven't recovered from the pandemic's impact.

* Compared to pre-pandemic figures (2019-20), passenger bookings are down by a significant 24%.

* This lag is evident since February 2022, with over 18,150 lakh fewer passengers using train services compared to the same period in 2019-20.

* Historically, passenger numbers peaked in 2018-19 (77,250 lakh) and 2019-20 (76,740 lakh), and haven't reached those levels since.

* The pandemic's effects were stark in 2020-21, with just 9,850 lakh passengers traveling by train, though numbers partially recovered in 2021-22 (30,630 lakh).

* Looking closer, both suburban and non-suburban travel have been affected:

   * Suburban travel (distances less than 150km) sees a 20% drop compared to 2019-20.

   * Non-suburban travel (covering wider regions) is down by an even steeper 29%.

This new version focuses on the key points, highlighting the decline in passenger traffic compared to pre-pandemic levels and providing specific data for both overall and suburban/non-suburban breakdowns. I hope this is helpful!

 

Indian railway passenger traffic FY 2010-2022

The passenger traffic in the railway sector dropped to around 3.52 billion across India in fiscal year 2022. The significant decrease was mainly due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Passenger rail traffic from India’s suburbs was much higher than the non-suburban rail traffic at the end of fiscal year 2018. Overall, the railway network transported over 22 million passengers every day pre-pandemic era.