Sapt Kranti Express: Ruling the tracks with EMD Power - Keshav Singh

Sir, Airlines have a better advantage than railways in terms of travel time.
The point is in India railways always have a cost advantage and hence a preferred mode of travel apart from being the only mode for masses. If you analyze and compare the fares for even 3AC are way to low when compared to similar services offered in other countries.
Since the business model is based on offering low cost travel and railways always makes sure that passenger services are kept at minimum profit model.
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proposal of high speed train is certainly a good move considering that we need alternative to air travel. However, point to note is the high infrastructure and operating costs would be a damner because for any venture to break even (in other words turn profitable) would depend on the revenue being generated. For this the costs would have to be kept at par with Air Travel.
Secondly, the reason for Mumbai-Pune expressway being a hit is the transformation of India in the last decade. In economic terms we can compare this to a super normal growth but it is not sustainable. No wonder people appreciate the express way corridors but the next decade may not have such growth in terms of disposable incomes.