Western Railway has achieved Rs. 5,000 crore in originating revenue for FY 2021-22 on 21st August 2021. This is a growth of 53 per cent in comparison to figures for the corresponding period last year.
The dramatic increase is partly due to the low base of FY 2020-21. Freight traffic and passenger traffic had dropped sharply in the initial months of FY 2020-21 all across Indian Railways. This was due to the imposition of a national lockdown at the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
As of 25th August 2021, Western Railway had loaded 33.52 million tonnes of freight as compared to 26.59 million tonnes for the same period in FY 2020-21.
Passenger traffic for 2021-22 so far has also shown a dramatic rise. WR states that 143 million passengers have originated from the zone as compared to just 9.93 million for the same period last financial year. This can also be attributed to an almost total shutdown of passenger services for a couple of months, followed by a partial resumption till August 2020.
According to Western Railway CPRO Sumit Thakur, 80 per cent of the total revenue receipts are from freight traffic.
Western Railway Frieght Basket and Revenue
During the period from 1st April to 21st August 2021, WR transported more than 1 lakh tonnes of goods by 285 parcel special trains. Commodities transported include agricultural produce, medicines, medical equipment, fish, milk etc. These trains generated Rs. 37.47 crores in freight revenue.
72 Milk Special trains were run by WR, with a load of more than 50 thousand tonnes and 100% utilization of the wagons.
Similarly, 85 COVID-19 special parcel trains with a load of approx. 14,900 tonnes were also run to transport essential commodities. In addition to this, 53 indented rakes carrying about 25,000 tonnes were also run with 100% utilization. To help the farmers find new markets for their produce and also for its economical and fast transportation, 75 Kisan Rails with load of more than 18,600 tonnes have also been run during this period from various divisions.