Why increasing AC coaches and reducing Sleeper and Second Class is a problem for commuters | Data Premium

Indian Railways has replaced Sleeper/2nd Class coaches w/ AC 3-tier Economy Class coaches, resulting in fewer passengers able to reserve tickets in Sleeper/2nd Class. This has led to higher costs for AC coaches & incidents of general ticket holders invading reserved compartments. Comparing 2019-20 & 2009-10, AC seats share rose sharply while 2nd Class' share decreased. AC 3-tier fare increased 33 paise/passenger/km in past decade, while Sleeper Class' fare increased only 17.4 paise, highlighting affordability concerns. Move mandated due to poor operating ratio of Indian Railways, worsened after pandemic. Next Data Point will discuss reasons.

For some time now, the Indian Railways has been introducing AC coaches in trains by replacing either Sleeper or Second-Class coaches. In May, in four pairs of trains operating out of Mangaluru Central Railway Station, one Sleeper Coach each was replaced by an AC 3-tier Economy Class coach each. In September, in Bagmati Superfast Express, Rapti Sagar Superfast Express and Muzaffarpur Express, an AC 3-tier Economy Class coach was introduced in place of a general Second Class coach each.

These changes have serious implications as the probability of travellers reserving a ticket in Sleeper and Second Classes has come down, forcing them to either upgrade to AC coaches or make alternative travel plans. Those holding an unreserved ticket to travel in General Coaches also may find it tough to get seats. With a relatively smaller share of people able to afford the higher costs of AC coaches, and in scenarios where alternative arrangements are not possible, incidents of general ticket holders invading reserved compartments have become common.

A comparison of passengers carried in 2019-20 and a decade back in 2009-10, shows that the above examples are not exceptions but the norm.

Table 1 | The table shows the % share of passengers carried by various classes of service — AC, Sleeper and Second in 2019-20 and 2009-10. The table also shows the difference (in % points) in the share of passengers between these two time periods.

Charts appear incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode

For instance, in 2019-20, of all passengers carried by Indian Railways (including both reserved and unreserved), 7.8% were in the AC coaches, a sharp jump from 3.6% a decade back — an increase of 4.2 percentage points. The share of those who travelled in the Second Class reduced from 85.3% to 76.5% — a decrease of 8.7 percentage points.

The table also looks at the same data for only passengers who made a reservation. As the total row shows, the share of reserved passengers carried by AC coaches increased by 9.8% points while that of Sleeper Class decreased by 2.8% points and that of Second Class decreased by 6.6% points in the decade considered.