The spike in the Railways’ revenue was more in both reserved and unreserved passenger categories in 2022-23 as train operations were normalised after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indian Railways has earned a record Rs 2.31 lakh crore from freight and passenger sectors in 2022-23, which is 28 per cent higher than the last financial year.
This is also a rare occasion when the public transporter’s revenue from these two key segments has surpassed the revised estimate of Rs 2.29 lakh crore.
Data until 31 March shows transportation of around 1,512 million tonnes (MTs) of freight, which is also the most ever, and also more than the revised estimate.
In 2021-22, the Railways transported around 1,416 MTs of cargo by trains.
The details also show that movement of coal and coke, mainly used at thermal power plants, had the lion’s share, both in terms of tonnage and revenue last year, though the rate of increase was the maximum in the case of chemicals and manures.
While there has been a trend of increase in freight movement by rails in recent years, the spike in the Railways’ revenue was more in both reserved and unreserved passenger categories in 2022-23 as train operations were normalised after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, earnings from the unreserved passenger ticket segment was Rs 14,616 crore, an increase of 300 per cent over 2021-22, and in the case of reserved passenger category, the revenue rose by 38.6 per cent.