Where have the passengers gone?
A huge fall of 11 lakh in the number of travellers in 4 months in Ahmedabad division sends railway officials in a tizzy; they are bucking up to arrest the trend
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, September 03, 2013
(http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2013090320130903030612828acc3ac18/Where-have-the-passengers-gone.html)
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, September 03, 2013
(http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2013090320130903030612828acc3ac18/Where-have-the-passengers-gone.html)
As if drying up of funds for its various projects was not enough, Indian Railways is now facing the challenge of retaining its passengers. Compared with 2012 figures, at least a 1.5 crore fewer passengers travelled by the train in April-July this year in western zone that includes Gujarat and Maharashtra. In Ahmedabad alone, the passenger volume has shrunk by more than 11 lakh. The alarming fall in the figure has sent senior officials scurrying to find the reason and arrest the trend.
At this stage, they do not know what has hit them: rise in fare, people preferring other modes of transport or many travelling without ticket, said sources in the railways. According to latest figures, the number of passengers in Ahmedabad division for four months, between April and July, has gone down by 11 lakh compared with the same period last year. Around 1.64 crore passengers travelled in these four months in 2012, while for the corresponding period in 2013, the figure is a mere 1.53 crore, representing a drop of 6.5 pc.
The target this year for Ahmedabad division was 1.65 crore passengers. The decline in numbers is also true for the entire Western Railway where numbers have come down from 55.4 crore to 54 crore, reflecting a decline of 2.52 per cent. Commenting on this development, Ahmedabad Divisional Railway Manager Alok Tiwari said, “We are studying its reasons and implications. We will try our best to arrest the disturbing development.
We are preparing an action plan to deal with the problem.” He elaborated, “One of the steps is to check people who travel WT (without ticket). We will organise ticket checking in various sections and organise a special drive. Besides, many passengers do not buy tickets as they find it cumbersome to wait in queues. They are timestrained as well. We will try to address this issue.” Sources added that officials are concerned over the development becoming a trend as it could seriously damage the railways.
RAISED INCOME NO CONSOLATION
Incidentally, the income for the railways from sale of tickets has gone up in the period. Yet the railways cannot take heart from this fact. “This is primarily because fares have been hike and advance reservation period has been decreased from four to two months. The latter has led to more cancellation of tickets and hence rise in subsidiary income,” said the source. Besides, even this higher income is way below the target, he pointed out. Income for Ahmedabad division has increased from Rs 196 cr to Rs 210 cr for April-July. However, it grossly falls short of the target of Rs 265 cr.
‘RAISED FARE A CULPRIT’
Officials are attributing these dismal numbers to various reasons. “ares have been increased, though it was done after many years. The minimum fare of Rs 14 for a distance of up to 25 km has been raised to Rs 30. This could be a big deterrent. The reduction in advance reservation period, too, could have contributed to the fall,” said another source. Requesting anonymity some officials said that passengers might be travelling without ticket as a result of fare hike.
This fear proved correct as ticket checking action plan in August led to a marginal increase in number of passengers. “It is true that the numbers has gone up, but we are still analysing the data. Primary data suggest the number of people travelling on unreserved tickets has gone up by 1.5 per cent,” Tiwari said. Other reasons being cited are increased road and other transport facilities. However this has few takers as roads have been in good shape in Gujarat for years. The catastrophic flood in Uttarakhand too could have temporarily discouraged people from travelling, especially to the north, officials feel.
‘FACILITIES MISSING’
Regular commuters attribute this development to the railways’ failure in giving them better facilities. President of Akhil Bharatiya Rail Upbhogta Sangh Yogesh Mishra said, fare has been hiked but facilities are the same. Passengers would rather spend the same money on other modes of transport with better facilities. Besides, unlimited tickets are issued for general compartment that has no no facility, he added.
At this stage, they do not know what has hit them: rise in fare, people preferring other modes of transport or many travelling without ticket, said sources in the railways. According to latest figures, the number of passengers in Ahmedabad division for four months, between April and July, has gone down by 11 lakh compared with the same period last year. Around 1.64 crore passengers travelled in these four months in 2012, while for the corresponding period in 2013, the figure is a mere 1.53 crore, representing a drop of 6.5 pc.
The target this year for Ahmedabad division was 1.65 crore passengers. The decline in numbers is also true for the entire Western Railway where numbers have come down from 55.4 crore to 54 crore, reflecting a decline of 2.52 per cent. Commenting on this development, Ahmedabad Divisional Railway Manager Alok Tiwari said, “We are studying its reasons and implications. We will try our best to arrest the disturbing development.
We are preparing an action plan to deal with the problem.” He elaborated, “One of the steps is to check people who travel WT (without ticket). We will organise ticket checking in various sections and organise a special drive. Besides, many passengers do not buy tickets as they find it cumbersome to wait in queues. They are timestrained as well. We will try to address this issue.” Sources added that officials are concerned over the development becoming a trend as it could seriously damage the railways.
RAISED INCOME NO CONSOLATION
Incidentally, the income for the railways from sale of tickets has gone up in the period. Yet the railways cannot take heart from this fact. “This is primarily because fares have been hike and advance reservation period has been decreased from four to two months. The latter has led to more cancellation of tickets and hence rise in subsidiary income,” said the source. Besides, even this higher income is way below the target, he pointed out. Income for Ahmedabad division has increased from Rs 196 cr to Rs 210 cr for April-July. However, it grossly falls short of the target of Rs 265 cr.
‘RAISED FARE A CULPRIT’
Officials are attributing these dismal numbers to various reasons. “ares have been increased, though it was done after many years. The minimum fare of Rs 14 for a distance of up to 25 km has been raised to Rs 30. This could be a big deterrent. The reduction in advance reservation period, too, could have contributed to the fall,” said another source. Requesting anonymity some officials said that passengers might be travelling without ticket as a result of fare hike.
This fear proved correct as ticket checking action plan in August led to a marginal increase in number of passengers. “It is true that the numbers has gone up, but we are still analysing the data. Primary data suggest the number of people travelling on unreserved tickets has gone up by 1.5 per cent,” Tiwari said. Other reasons being cited are increased road and other transport facilities. However this has few takers as roads have been in good shape in Gujarat for years. The catastrophic flood in Uttarakhand too could have temporarily discouraged people from travelling, especially to the north, officials feel.
‘FACILITIES MISSING’
Regular commuters attribute this development to the railways’ failure in giving them better facilities. President of Akhil Bharatiya Rail Upbhogta Sangh Yogesh Mishra said, fare has been hiked but facilities are the same. Passengers would rather spend the same money on other modes of transport with better facilities. Besides, unlimited tickets are issued for general compartment that has no no facility, he added.
