New Delhi: The Railway Ministry disclosed that it "does not maintain separate records on the revenue generated by Vande Bharat trains", in response to a query under the RTI Act. Vande Bharat, India's first semi-high-speed train, commenced its service on February 15, 2019, operating between New Delhi and Varanasi. Presently, there are 102 Vande Bharat trains traversing 100 routes, encompassing 284 districts across 24 states and union territories.
'Train-wise portability is not maintained'
Chandra Shekhar Gaur from Madhya Pradesh inquired about the revenue generated by Vande Bharat trains over the past two years and whether the operation resulted in profit or loss for the Railway Ministry. “Train-wise portability is not maintained,” the Railway Ministry said in its response.
Over 2 crore people travelled by Vande Bharat trains
Earlier on Monday, Railways officials revealed that over 2 crore people have travelled by Vande Bharat trains since its inception. Additionally, they highlighted that the distance covered by Vande Bharat trains in the financial year 2023-24 is equivalent to circling the planet Earth 310 times.
Gaur expressed astonishment and remarked that while the Railways keep track of the number of passengers and the distance covered by Vande Bharat trains, it is surprising that they do not maintain crucial information regarding revenue generation. “The Railways officials can calculate distance travelled by Vande Bharat trains in a year vis a vis their equivalence to total rounds around the Earth but it doesn't have total revenue collected from these trains,” Gaur said.
“It is very important for the Railways to maintain a separate record of revenue generation status from Vande Bharat trains because these are India’s first semi-high speed new generation trains and its profitability will establish its real popularity," he added.
So far as occupancy is concerned, the Railways, in response to another application under RTI filed in October last year, said that overall utilisation of Vande Barat trains is over 92 per cent, which the Railways officials say is an encouraging figure. “Vande Bharat trains are doing extremely well on some routes while on some other routes their occupancy is average but if you see the overall utilisation, it is quite significant,” an official said.
Vande Bharat Express Trains
Vande Bharat Express is an indigenously manufactured, semi-high speed and self-propelled train set. The train is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities, providing passengers with a faster, more comfortable and convenient travel experience. The Vande Bharat train is India's first indigenously manufactured semi-high-speed trainset, also known as Train 18. It is designed to run at speeds of up to 160 km/h and is equipped with modern amenities such as GPS-based passenger information systems, onboard Wi-Fi, and CCTV cameras for enhanced security.
There has been a growing demand for the introduction of sleeper class Vande Bharat trainsets, which are capable of operating on long-distance routes such as Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah. Currently, all operational Vande Bharat trains only have chair car and executive chair car classes, which cater to shorter distance routes.
(With PTI inputs)
Also Read: How many Vande Bharat Express trains are operational in India? Check govt's response
