Occupancy on Indian Railways: In a bid to improve occupancy on some less popular Indian Railways trains the national transporter says it has taken several steps. As the demand is not uniform in Indian Railways, it keeps changing during lean and peak periods and this lean and peak period is also not uniform across the country. However, according to a press release by Railway Ministry, during the Financial Year 2017-18, the overall occupancy of all reserved trains on Indian Railways was more than 100 per cent. Here are the various steps which are being taken by the railways as a continuous and ongoing exercise in order to improve the occupancy of less patronised trains: –
1) Indian Railways is introducing fast train services and also reducing the running time of existing trains.
2) Indian Railways is offering discounted fare in Shatabdi trains in last/first leg of the journey over the following sections:-
From Bengaluru to Mysuru section
From Mysuru to Bengaluru section
From Ahmedabad to Vadodara section
From New Jalpaiguri to Malda Town section
3) The national transporter is also putting in efforts to make the timings of relatively emptier trains more convenient.
4) The railways is reducing in load of poorly patronized trains. Moreover, it is using the released coaches in order to augment the load of well-patronised trains.
5) In order to make the necessary modifications like re-distribution of reservation quota, augmentation/reduction of load of train etc., the railways is studying the utilisation pattern of trains.
6) In order to cater to specific requirements of passengers on road-competitive sectors, the railways is introducing suitable type of trains.
7) The railways has declared AC-3 tier coach as AC Chair Coach and announced booking on AC chair car fare in 5 pairs of trains over Bengaluru-Mysuru-Bengaluru section.
8) The national transporter is offering 10% rebate in the basic fare in all trains on vacant berths or seats after preparation of first reservation chart.