Southern Railway doubles passenger traffic in April-December 2022

It earned a revenue of ₹4,689.46 crore transporting 468 million passengers during the period

The Southern Railway doubled the passenger traffic in April to December 2022 by earning a revenue of ₹4,689.46 crore transporting 468 million passengers compared to 225 million passengers handled during the same period in 2021.

The passenger traffic surpassed the Board’s target by 12.4%, according to a press release. The operation of various reserved, unreserved, passenger trains and special trains during peak seasons and festivals had helped increase the passenger traffic, it said. 

In the month of December 2022 alone it registered a passenger count of nearly 55 million compared to 40 million in December 2021, registering an increase of 37.4%. The earnings were ₹528 crore in December 2022 against ₹375 crore in 2021. 

Similarly, the Southern Railway achieved an increase of 27% in freight traffic which stood at 27 million tonnes, earning a revenue of ₹2,659.73 crore in April-December 2022. In the same period during 2021, the freight traffic was around 22 million tonnes. The revenue earned was ₹1,989.56 crore. The Railway Board had set a target of ₹2,300 crore for the April-December last year. 

The increased freight traffic was fuelled by coal (13.115 million tonnes), foodgrains (2.198 MT), fertilizers (3.031 MT) and petroleum, oil and lubricant products (3.812 MT), according to the release.