New Delhi: Indian Railways earned Rs 12,159.35 crore from ticket sales during this year’s festivals. This data is from September 1, 2024 to October 31, 2024, when major festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra and Diwali were celebrated. During this period there was a huge increase in the number of passengers traveling by rail.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav gave this information in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. However, no separate record of ticket cancellation income is maintained, the minister clarified.
Railways said that between September 1 and November 10, a total of 143.71 million passengers traveled by train. In this, the maximum number of passengers traveled in the Central Zone where the number of passengers was recorded at 31.63 crore. At the same time, the least number of passengers, 1.48 crore, stayed in the central southeast zone. The Western Zone secured the second position with 26.13 million passengers, while the Eastern Zone occupied the third place with 24.67 million passengers.
To cope with the festive rush, the railways operated 7,983 additional special trains between October 1 and November 11. These trains helped travel more than 2 lakh additional passengers every day. Last year, more than 4,500 special trains ran during Diwali and Chhath Puja. This year services were increased even further taking into account the number of passengers.
This initiative of the Railways not only facilitated the travel of passengers but also increased revenue, indicating the increase in demand for the Railways during the festivals.
