April tests Indian Railways, 60% more trains planned to meet voting, wedding surge

April saw Indian Railways' resources stretched thin with over 41.16 crore passengers taking trains from 1-21 of the month. The surge, attributed to the ongoing elections and the wedding season, has created a lopsided demand-supply curve for the national transporter due to limited capacity. 

Last weekend — April 20 and 21 — saw nearly 3.38 crore passengers embarking on train journeys, forcing the Ministry of Railways to run over 10,000 trains this summer due to the sudden demand, 60% higher than the 6,369 trains offered last year.

Sources told Business Today Television (BT TV) that additional trains were already being notified, with the highest allocation to Western Railways, followed by North Western Railways, South Central, and then East Central.

A senior railways official told BT TV that this year the national transporter is running a record number of additional trains for the convenience of passengers. "We are taking efforts to ensure the availability of drinking water at railway stations. Elaborate crowd control arrangements have been made at all important railway stations." He added that senior officers have been tasked at these stations to regulate the crowd in a systematic manner, and RPF personnel have been deputed at originating stations to ensure a queue system for entry into General Class coaches.

"Skilled RPF staff have been deployed in the CCTV Control Room to keep a close watch on the crowded areas and render real-time assistance to passengers. Government Railway Police  & Railway Protection Force  staff have been deployed at foot-over bridges to regulate crowds smoothly. Additional help desks and counters have also been set up to help with passengers queries. Railways are continuously making arrangements as per the demand," the official added.

As per Indian Railways, 37 crore passengers travelled last year in the same month during summer. In the pre-COVID era, in 2019, the number was 35 crore.

It was only during 2020-2021, the time of the pandemic, train travel saw a 40% dip.

Decoding a surge

As per sources, the surge is attributed to the ongoing elections and a cluster of astrologically auspicious dates. In addition to the usual summer demand, overcrowding in trains is also being witnessed as many people are traveling back home to cast their votes.

There's been a noticeable overcrowding in AC coaches as passengers on long routes prefer these compartments due to the heat, and overbooking of AC coaches has also been witnessed, indicating more number of people are willing to travel in AC coaches than before.

Sources also said that amid the election season, representatives from various political parties are booking tickets in bulk to travel for the polls. Furthermore, many political workers are arranging transportation for their supporters to voting locations.

Dakshita Das, former additional member finance, Ministry of Railways, told BT TV that "the passenger rush being witnessed this time is a normal seasonal occurrence. In fact, typically, the same rush can be witnessed towards year-end during Puja, till Chatth puja. This is the wedding season coupled with those heading home to cast their votes, hence the pressure."

As per industry sources, the surge could also be due to the fact that air travel has turned expensive in past few months.  With the GoFirst issue and supply chain worries, airfares have seen a noticeable jump of 10-15% this summer.   A Yatra spokesperson told BT TV that in the second week of April, post Vistara's  suspension of flights, there was a surge in airfares by up to 25%, however, the same could also be due to the summer season.

"There’s a larger picture too which is what the Railways have systematically been working on in the last few years -- that is to augment their carrying capacity in terms of infrastructure and trains both, something that the public is aware of. Hence, to my mind, this is a normal occurrence albeit with the pressure on the Indian Railways to manage this demand especially for some parts of the country," Das added.

Boost for economy While the increase in railway bookings may contribute to the growth of the services sector -- gross value added and private final consumption expenditure --  there could also be a slight increase in the absolute numbers for GDP, as per economists.