Slowing demand and pessimistic economic outlook have upset the Indian Railways’ financial plans for the year, as freight and passenger earnings have not only missed targets but also declined as compared to the same period last year.
Overall freight loading has seen a decline of 1.3% as compared to last year and is short of the target for the period by a significant 5.4%.
Indian Railways Freight Loading (in Million Tons)
S. N. | Railway | Actual upto November 2018 | Target upto November 2019 | Actual upto November 2019 | (%) Variation over Last Year | (%) Variation over Target |
1 | CR | 39.88 | 42.44 | 39.2 | -1.71 | -7.63 |
2 | ER | 41.88 | 45.65 | 40.86 | -2.44 | -10.5 |
3 | ECR | 87.57 | 93.24 | 96.47 | 10.16 | 3.47 |
4 | ECoR | 123.8 | 129.9 | 127.7 | 3.2 | -1.66 |
5 | NR | 33.83 | 34.72 | 32.45 | -4.08 | -6.54 |
6 | NCR | 10.2 | 10.45 | 10.06 | -1.37 | -3.72 |
7 | NER | 1.3 | 1.41 | 1.52 | 16.92 | 7.45 |
8 | NFR | 6.28 | 6.56 | 6.38 | 1.59 | -2.72 |
9 | NWR | 15.47 | 15.11 | 11.05 | -28.6 | -26.9 |
10 | SR | 23.97 | 24.43 | 20.97 | -12.5 | -14.2 |
11 | SCR | 78.46 | 82.3 | 71.59 | -8.76 | -13 |
12 | SER | 101.1 | 105.5 | 110.7 | 9.48 | 4.99 |
13 | SECR | 121.7 | 124.7 | 108.6 | -10.8 | -12.9 |
14 | SWR | 23.33 | 24.82 | 24.91 | 6.77 | 0.36 |
15 | WR | 55.58 | 56.58 | 52.43 | -5.67 | -7.34 |
16 | WCR | 26.08 | 27.01 | 25.5 | -2.22 | -5.58 |
17 | KRCL | 1.27 | 1.45 | 1.31 | 3.15 | -9.45 |
IR | Total | 791.7 | 826.3 | 781.8 | -1.3 | -5.4 |
Similarly, Passengers Booked till November 2019 have declined 1.3% from the same period last year and are short of the target by 3%.
Passengers Booked from April to November 2019 (In Millions)
S. No. | Railway | Actual upto November 2018 | Target upto November 2019 | Actual upto November 2019 | (%) Variation over Last Year | (%) Variation over Target |
1 | CR | 1220 | 1250 | 1202 | -1.4 | -3.8 |
2 | ER | 846.2 | 866.9 | 851.1 | 0.6 | -1.8 |
3 | ECR | 170.1 | 171 | 168.9 | -0.7 | -1.3 |
4 | ECoR | 66.24 | 66.65 | 65.99 | -0.4 | -1 |
5 | NR | 387 | 388.8 | 378.1 | -2.3 | -2.8 |
6 | NCR | 116.6 | 117.3 | 112 | -4 | -4.5 |
7 | NER | 129.3 | 130.1 | 133.4 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
8 | NFR | 73.55 | 74.01 | 75.75 | 3 | 2.4 |
9 | NWR | 124.5 | 125.4 | 125.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
10 | SR | 559.7 | 568.3 | 549.3 | -1.9 | -3.3 |
11 | SCR | 258.8 | 261.2 | 252.4 | -2.5 | -3.4 |
12 | SER | 179.4 | 182.7 | 175.6 | -2.1 | -3.9 |
13 | SECR | 83.31 | 84.24 | 79.73 | -4.3 | -5.4 |
14 | SWR | 132.3 | 133.1 | 128.3 | -3 | -3.6 |
15 | WR | 1065 | 1090 | 1045 | -1.9 | -4.2 |
16 | WCR | 93.14 | 93.72 | 91.7 | -1.5 | -2.2 |
17 | METRO | 142.9 | 147 | 144.8 | 1.4 | -1.5 |
IR | Total | 5648 | 5751 | 5580 | -1.2 | -3 |
In keeping with freight loading performance, freight earnings have also declined by 4.3% compared to the same period last year, and have fallen short of the current year’s targets by a significant 19.7%.
Freight Earnings (In Crore Rupees)
S. N. | Railway | Actual upto (November) 2018 | Target upto (November) 2019 | Actual upto (November) 2019 | (%) Variation w. r. t. Last year | (%) Variation w. r. t. target |
1 | CR | 5041 | 5469 | 4547 | -9.8 | -16.9 |
2 | ER | 2456 | 3387 | 2419 | -1.5 | -28.6 |
3 | ECR | 5827 | 8024 | 5198 | -10.8 | -35.2 |
4 | ECoR | 8994 | 11219 | 9918 | 10.3 | -11.6 |
5 | NR | 4635 | 5470 | 4372 | -5.7 | -20.1 |
6 | NCR | 5942 | 7512 | 5281 | -11.1 | -29.7 |
7 | NER | 995.9 | 1104 | 942.2 | -5.4 | -14.7 |
8 | NFR | 1171 | 1512 | 1207 | 3.1 | -20.2 |
9 | NWR | 3045 | 3479 | 2758 | -9.4 | -20.7 |
10 | SR | 1963 | 2236 | 1836 | -6.5 | -17.9 |
11 | SCR | 7383 | 8842 | 6407 | -13.2 | -27.5 |
12 | SER | 7988 | 9054 | 8739 | 9.4 | -3.5 |
13 | SECR | 7831 | 8706 | 7775 | -0.7 | -10.7 |
14 | SWR | 1730 | 2079 | 1903 | 10 | -8.5 |
15 | WR | 4569 | 5040 | 3382 | -26 | -32.9 |
16 | WCR | 5466 | 6310 | 5116 | -6.4 | -18.9 |
Total IR | Total | 75038 | 89442 | 71800 | -4.3 | -19.7 |
However, a silver lining has been visible with passenger earnings. Indian Railways improved passenger earnings by an average of 4% over the same period last year but fell short of the target for the same period by 5.3%.
Passenger Earnings (In Crore Rupees)
S. N. | Railway | Actual up to (November) 2018 | Target up to (November) 2019 | Actual up to (November) 2019 | (%) Variation w. r. t. Last year | (%) Variation w. r. t. target |
1 | CR | 3737.34 | 4100.38 | 3851.74 | 3.1 | -6.1 |
2 | ER | 1568.18 | 1748.05 | 1634.76 | 4.2 | -6.5 |
3 | ECR | 1701.21 | 1802.86 | 1764.06 | 3.7 | -2.2 |
4 | ECoR | 1015.86 | 1083.79 | 1048.38 | 3.2 | -3.3 |
5 | NR | 4351.5 | 4859.64 | 4414.75 | 1.5 | -9.2 |
6 | NCR | 3276.12 | 3628.09 | 3361.19 | 2.6 | -7.4 |
7 | NER | 1088.01 | 1204.79 | 1172.42 | 7.8 | -2.7 |
8 | NFR | 897.16 | 957.41 | 941.22 | 4.9 | -1.7 |
9 | NWR | 1407.77 | 1553.39 | 1443.12 | 2.5 | -7.1 |
10 | SR | 2957.09 | 3248.94 | 3219.89 | 8.9 | -0.9 |
11 | SCR | 3443.1 | 3808.93 | 3682.27 | 6.9 | -3.3 |
12 | SER | 1104.91 | 1226.29 | 1156.59 | 4.7 | -5.7 |
13 | SECR | 761.61 | 832.31 | 805.97 | 5.8 | -3.2 |
14 | SWR | 1030.74 | 1119.2 | 1098.45 | 6.6 | -1.9 |
15 | WR | 3125.78 | 3391.11 | 3195.61 | 2.2 | -5.8 |
16 | WCR | 2298.47 | 2522 | 2327.06 | 1.2 | -7.7 |
17 | Metro | 135.29 | 150.09 | 136.57 | 0.9 | -9 |
Total IR | 33900.14 | 37237.27 | 35254.05 | 4 | -5.3 |
Overall, Indian Railways earnings for the period from April to November 2019 were short by 0.3% compared to last year but 16% below targets. The overall earnings include freight, passenger, other coaching and sundry earnings from various operational sources.
S. N. | Railway | Actual up to (November) 2018 | Target up to (November) 2019 | Actual up to (November) 2019 | (%) Variation w. r. t. Last year | (%) Variation w. r. t. target |
1 | CR | 9393.88 | 10443.47 | 9489.4 | 1 | -9.1 |
2 | ER | 4350.17 | 5701.96 | 4410.54 | 1.4 | -22.6 |
3 | ECR | 7677.76 | 10024.72 | 7325.65 | -4.6 | -26.9 |
4 | ECoR | 10189.84 | 12549.26 | 11154.09 | 9.5 | -11.1 |
5 | NR | 10024.27 | 12822.88 | 9140.86 | -8.8 | -28.7 |
6 | NCR | 9424.44 | 11474.92 | 8884.4 | -5.7 | -22.6 |
7 | NER | 2211.24 | 2438.75 | 2252.78 | 1.9 | -7.6 |
8 | NFR | 2272.3 | 3174.08 | 3221.38 | 41.8 | 1.5 |
9 | NWR | 4736.69 | 5479.17 | 4639.82 | -2 | -15.3 |
10 | SR | 5445.37 | 6180.4 | 5622.55 | 3.3 | -9 |
11 | SCR | 11233.12 | 13167.27 | 10485.5 | -6.7 | -20.4 |
12 | SER | 9368.55 | 10661.42 | 10193.76 | 8.8 | -4.4 |
13 | SECR | 8714.85 | 9745.59 | 8685.55 | -0.3 | -10.9 |
14 | SWR | 3002.84 | 3574.27 | 3225.31 | 7.4 | -9.8 |
15 | WR | 8444.54 | 9330.32 | 7663.61 | -9.2 | -17.9 |
16 | WCR | 7956.1 | 9082 | 7644.32 | -3.9 | -15.8 |
17 | Metro | 149.47 | 175.74 | 158.42 | 6 | -9.9 |
Total IR | 114595.43 | 136026.22 | 114197.94 | -0.3 | -16 |
With limited success in reduction of working expenses, it remains to be seen how capex and maintenance work planned for the year will be impacted.