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Journalism of Courage
The battle for the skies is fast derailing the Railways. So, even as different airlines slash their fares and offer customer-friendly schemes, the Railways seem to be fighting a losing battle.
Consider this: In the month of September, I AC coach of Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani recorded less than 20 per cent occupancy on any given day. The occupancy was relatively better in the cheaper II AC and III AC sections — at 50 and 60 per cent, respectively.
In the same month, all Delhi-Mumbai flights went full, be it the Indian Airlines, Jet Airways or Sahara, thanks to the Apex (Advance Purchase) fares offered by them.
The situation is not very different in other Rajdhani and premier express trains, where there are hardly any takers for the I AC coach. In fact, even II AC is fast losing its popularity in many trains, with the Apex fares comparable to its ticket cost.
A comparison of Rajdhani and Apex fares reveals that for most prime destinations, the airfares are at par with the II AC fares. Naturally, people are increasingly preferring to fly rather than avail the sub-standard and time-consuming services offered by the Railways at the same cost. For instance, a person can fly from Delhi to Mumbai for Rs 2,500, which is just slightly more than the Rs 2,210 he will have to spend on a Rajdhani II AC ticket. The cost of a I AC ticket is Rs 4,135.
According to Rail Bhavan sources, it is mainly Railway officials, MPs and others — travelling complementary or on company or government account — who use I AC.
‘‘Why should a passenger spend so much when he can fly in comfort at a much lower price. And now the airlines have come out with other schemes also where he can get tickets at a lower price even if he cannot plan much in advance. By booking one week or a fortnight in advance, he can still get tickets cheaper than I AC, though a little more than Apex fares,’’ said a Jet Airways spokesman.
The Railways are aware of the stiff competition they are facing from the airlines, especially with regard to their prestigious fast long-distance trains. Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav said the Railways are worried on this account and are in the process of working out a suitable policy response.
Giving details of the new passenger policy, which is still being finalised, an official revealed plans to offer flexi-fares. ‘‘We will offer discounted fares for off-peak periods when rail travel is less. These are mainly between January and March, and between July and September,’’ he said.
Another proposal being considered is upgrading of waitlisted seats in case of a vacancy in an upper-class. ‘‘If there is too much rush in III AC and there are seats available in II AC, then some of the waitlisted passengers can be confirmed by upgrading them. What we are debating is whether the passengers should be charged and how much,’’ he explained. One option is that a III AC passenger can be confirmed in II AC by being charged 50 per cent of the difference in fare.
The Railways are also planning to monitor the occupancy position of all trains — with special emphasis on Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Jan-Shatabdis — for a ‘‘cut-and-paste’’ option. ‘‘There are some trains which are perpetually under pressure and have a long waitlist, while there are others which have less than one per cent occupancy (like Arunachal Express). We are considering adding more coaches to the popular trains and cutting them off from the less popular ones,’’ explained a Passenger Management official.
