Corona is estimated to have lost a total of Rs 40,000 crore to the railways in the current financial year

New delhi date. Thursday, August 13, 2020

For the first time in the 167-year history of Indian Railways, there has been more cost behind paying ticket refunds than ticket booking revenue. In the first quarter of the current financial year, which was affected by the Corona epidemic, the railways lost Rs 1,066 crore in passenger revenue.

The Railways provided this information in response to a query under the Right to Information Act. According to the Railways, in the April-June quarter, the revenue of the railways' passenger category remained negative, while freight revenue declined sharply.

General category trains were closed in the first quarter of the current financial year due to travel restrictions imposed following the coronavirus infection. Meanwhile, refunds to railway passengers caused a loss of Rs 531.12 crore in April, Rs 145.24 crore in May and Rs 390.6 crore in June.

According to DJ Narayan, spokesperson of the railways, in fact, the amount of the loss refers to the railways giving refunds to people in excess of its revenue. Last year, the railways earned Rs 4,345 crore in April, Rs 4,463 crore in May and Rs 4,589 crore in June. The railways has estimated that the epidemic will cost the railways about Rs 40,000 crore in the current financial year.

However, freight revenue of the railways remained unchanged during this period. Railway freight revenue was Rs 5,744 crore in April, Rs 7,289 crore in May, Rs 10,032 crore in May and Rs 9,702 crore in June. The Railways further said that during the lockdown, the Railways operated labor special trains to send foreign laborers back to their hometowns. This has also caused a loss of about Rs 2,000 crore to the railways.