The national transporter, Indian Railways is on a spree to extend enhanced service and support to the passengers. Apart from the undertaking of various innovative measures inclined towards passenger safety during the COVID-19 pandemic times, the Indian Railways is now looking to offer better services to passengers.
Piyush Goyal, Railways Minister of India recently announced that the national transporter is planning to add more trains to routes that are currently running full.
“We are monitoring the entire situation very regularly. In a review meeting yesterday, I found that our current occupancy level is also about 70-75 percent. Only about 40 trains are going full. So, I am looking if I can add some more trains on those 40 routes which are going full. Opening up the entire service won’t do any good because there are no passengers who want to travel. There are trains with 10-15 percent occupancy. We have to be practical about it. Freight is moving on full speed,” Goyal said when asked when passenger train services will fully resume.
However, while talking about the current situation of occupancy & running of trains, Goyal said, “We started 125 pairs of trains across the country as special (trains) but we have not still reached the full potential of our passenger traffic. The average occupancy is around 70 percent. Very few trains are going full and passengers are still not ready to travel in public transport.”
Earlier this month, the Indian Railways announced seeking applications from private firms for running private passenger trains as a measure of offering better & comfortable services to passengers.