
## Vital Stats Functioning Of The Railways

The Minister of Railways, Mr. D.V. Sadananda Gowda, presented the Railways Budget 2014 to Parliament on July 8, 2014.  In his address, he commented on the performance of Railways in 2013-14 and laid out his budget proposals for 2014-15.  In this context, we present some statistics on the functioning of the Railways. 

## Cross Subsidisation Of Passenger Traffic By Freight Has Increased

� Freight traffic volume grew by 67% in the last 10 years while passenger traffic volume grew by 94% in the last 10 years.  
� Freight earnings have consistently been around 67% of the total Railways revenue in the last 10 years.  Passenger earnings 
have been around 27% of the total Railways revenue.  
� While passenger traffic has grown faster than freight traffic, the relative share in earnings has remained the same.  This 
implies that the cross subsidy by freight has increased. 

## India Has A Low Passenger Fare To Freight Rate Ratio

� In many countries, passenger fares are either higher or 
almost equal as freight rates.  
� However, in India, the ratio of passenger fare to freight 
rate is about 0.3.   
� This also suggests that freight earnings significantly cross 
subsidizes passenger fares in Indian Railways. 

## Share Of Railways In Total Freight Traffic Has Declined

� The share of Railways in total freight traffic has declined 
from 89% to 30% over the last 60 years. 
�  A steady increase in freight rates for Railways has led 
loss of freight traffic to roads.    
� In the last decade, some of the freight traffic has shifted to 
other modes of transport such as airways and waterways. 

## Infrastructure Investment Is Directed More Towards Roads, Less Towards Railways

� The gradual decrease in the freight share of Railways 
can also be attributed to the decrease in investments in 
the sector. 
� Roads have consistently received a larger chunk of the 
infrastructure investment. 
� Railways receives most of its funding from the public 
sector.  In comparison, roads receive investments from both public and private sectors. 
� The 12th Five Year Plan proposes to encourage private 
investments in Railways. 

## Number Of Accidents Has Declined In The Last 10 Years

 
� The number of rail accidents has declined from 325 in 
2003-04 to 131 in 2011-12.  
� The share of failure of railways staff contributing to rail 
accidents has declined steadily.  
� The number of sabotage cases causing rail accidents has 
increased in the last few years. 
� This suggests that while Railways is slowly improving 
its internal efficiency, it needs to work towards improving general safety and security of the services. 
Source: Railways Budget documents DISCLAIMER: This document is being furnished to you for your information.  You may choose to reproduce or redistribute this report for non-commercial purposes in part or in full to any other person with due acknowledgement of PRS Legislative Research ("PRS").  The opinions expressed herein are entirely those of the 