Western Railway Biggest Earner of Railways with Rs 13,000 Crore

Western Railway, with Rs12,985 crore, has become the biggest earner for Indian Railways.

Possibly for the first time since the re-organisation of the railways into zones in 1951, Western Railway (WR) has found itself at the top of the list in earnings. For the period starting April 2014 and ending December 2014, WR earned a whopping Rs12,985 crore out of the

Rs1,14.000 crore earned by the Indian Railways. This is around 11 per cent of the total earnings of Indian Railways, said elated WR officials in Mumbai.

WR's suburban network, among the densest in the world, saw a total of 976 million passengers using it in the nine-month period between April and December. That is a 2 per cent increase from last year. Overall, the passenger increase, including out-station commuters, was a robust 16 per cent, said officials.

"It is thanks to a record number of holiday specials and extra coaches added to trains that we have reached this mark. The fact that the premium trains that WR has run to places like Delhi and Jaipur and some from Ahmedabad has also given us a healthy balance sheet," said a senior WR official.

The suburban passenger numbers looking healthy was attributed to the fact that with a smaller network, when compared to Central Railway's one, WR was managing to run its local trains with less breakdowns and other traffic disruptions.

"The fact that all our local trains run on energy-saving Alternating Current and out fleet being a young one, with a dominance of Siemens rakes less than 10 years old, has also kept WR's suburban network in good shape," said an official.

The widest smiles, however, were reserved for the performance in the freight sector with WR seeing a 27 per cent increase in earnings over the corresponding period in 2013.

"The loading of fertilisers, coal and containers from the ports in Gujarat that fall within the jurisdiction has been a big factor why our freight earnings are looking so good. The non-port commodities like cement and salt have also been exemplary. All in all a great year," said a senior WR official.

In fact, according to the figures with WR, it is the biggest loader of salt in the country with 80 per cent of all salt loaded in the country being done so within WR territory, on WR rakes.

Source: DNA India

Posted in Railway News