पश्चिम रेलवे की शान, पश्चिम सुपरफास्ट एक्सप्रेस मेरी जान - Abdul Rehman

- PASSENGER TRAFFIC REVENUE
* Suburban travel is a big loss making venture for IR, and a 4% growth in suburban travel may not necessarily be financially good for IR.
4% growth in suburban travel giving 500 Cr extra revenue shall be profitable if the extra suburban services operated by IR incurred extra expenditure of less than 500Cr Rs (which actually is likely to be about Rs 700-800 crores).
*Suburban...
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travel can be made better by going for higher volumes by using longer (15 coach) trains, introducing AC coaches and minimising ticketless travel and rationalising cost of monthly passes. Atleast Mumbai Suburban trains can easily become profitable, as it used to be before the birth of the policy of "nofare hike for non ac unreserved class" which was formulate during UPA1 & institutionalised during UPA2. Generating profit from other suburban systems is very difficult.
* IR should try to maximize the ACIII travel which is the only profit giving pax, class. for IR
- FREIGHT TRAFFIC REVENUE
* In order to bridge huge demand-supply gap, the electric power generation has been drastically stepped up in past decade leading to comfortable power situation today.
* Further large capacities of unconventional/renewable (Solar, Windpower) energy generation are being installed, not many thermal plants shall be installed in near future, so substantial increase in coal loading is not going to happen soon.
* It would be better to tap non bulk freight directly through parcel trains and indirectly through collaboration with road sector through RORO & ROADRAILER to prop up revenue in future.