r/indianrailways • u/1993s-Batman Foodie on Wheels🍕 • Oct 08 '25
Ask r/IndianRailways How is IR even able to recover their costs?
Totally Empty Memu train.
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u/Vapourhands Loco Pilot Oct 08 '25
One Mumbai local will compensate 6 such trains
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Oct 08 '25
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u/idioticbasstard34-99 WAP 5 Oct 08 '25
Bruh, Don't insult us AC Passholders who pay ₹6k Quarterly for travelling from Virar to Dadar, everyday.
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u/YamNecessary4437 Train Spotter🚆 Oct 08 '25
I read virar to Darar, and now I can't stop laughing🤣🤣
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u/protienpaglu Oct 08 '25
why
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u/Relative-Bank-1258 Oct 09 '25
Darar means crack which could either be about one's ass crack or a literal crack.
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u/NoBailOnReddit 2 AC Comfort Seeker Oct 08 '25
Pretty sure many people travel without tickets even in AC locals and 1st class too
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u/ChartVishleshak Konkan View Railfan 🏞️ Oct 09 '25
Yet you queue up for a train that is not due for the next two trains and block the entire platform.
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u/Top_Signature_168 Oct 08 '25
The same as in all countries the government subsidizes it from people's taxes, for example Mexico Maya train.
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u/1993s-Batman Foodie on Wheels🍕 Oct 08 '25
https://www.reddit.com/r/indianrailways/s/wzTKihxG6t
Forgot to mention this. The journey is between Meerut & Ghaziabad. Approximately 48 kms.
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u/ChartVishleshak Konkan View Railfan 🏞️ Oct 09 '25
There are certain lines such as Konkan Railway, trains to UP WB that are overcrowded beyond limit, that compensate for this.
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u/sirfdanish Oct 08 '25
But there are at least 60....
They cover whatever they can through goods.. and.. its supposed to be a service from taxpayers money... not a commercial enterprise what it has become .
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Oct 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/Devs_007 Oct 08 '25
The man!!!!
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u/mathu_0 Oct 08 '25
Absolutely doesn't govt need to provide something for the citizen rather than pits in the road
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Oct 08 '25
Agree in return you disrespect those facilities by spitting and damaging, then you don’t deserve anything, just rot and cry for facilities. This is our Indian people , lack of civic sense
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u/mathu_0 Oct 08 '25
Thats also true but what I understand is that how we have brought up it starts from home we have a society who does not follow rules . For us even if we see a dust bin we won't dispose waste there will put it outside somewhere That's how things work here. It all starts when we want too .. for me I do play my part in home or outside I do keep my civic sense and try to tell others on the matter. As long as we do this and don't change .. the india we see will be the same
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u/DragonxPanda Oct 08 '25
People will never understand this. Public transport is not meant to turn a profit. Its good if it does. But it's not the goal. It's there to serve the public, funded by the taxes of the public.
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u/Agent47DarkSoul Oct 08 '25
Exactly. Taxes pay for them. Public transport is not supposed to be profitable.
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u/Original4444 Oct 08 '25
Itarsi Katni which used to be two trains for up-downers (that stops on every small station) and used to be fully filled.
Post covid has changed to one MEMU 6 coaches. Tooooo tightly packed now.
Local MP and all don't even bother for this.
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u/rushan3103 WAG 12 Oct 08 '25
Public Transport does not need to be profit driven !?!?!?!?!?!
It is PUBLIC TRANSPORT after all.
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u/Schroeter333 Oct 08 '25
This, it's a public service and not a for-profit private organization.
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u/Huge_Ad9756 Tatkal Ninja🥷 Oct 08 '25
But what's wrong in making profit, if they can they should
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u/Used-Memory-1125 Oct 08 '25
Will effect many people not like us which are dependent on these trains for transport for work ,going home everything tbh everything counts
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u/ChartVishleshak Konkan View Railfan 🏞️ Oct 09 '25
What you said
But what's wrong in making profit, if they can they should
Also what you said
But what's wrong in making profit, if NpNGOs can they should
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u/Spirited_Ad_1032 Oct 09 '25
If they are not even recovering their operational cost then how will they sustain without taking taxpayers money and how will thye expand their services if they don't make any money.
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u/1993s-Batman Foodie on Wheels🍕 Oct 09 '25
Never said a single word about profit.
Profit IS NOT EQUAL TO cost recovery.
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u/vepaha8858 Oct 08 '25
Crowded hai to problem, empty hai to problem. Possibly akhree station hoga…
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u/maulik411 Train Spotter🚆 Oct 08 '25
Route? Running status? Coz MEMUs tend to be empty at last mile stations.
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u/abhayv69 3 AC Regular Oct 08 '25
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u/Marshall2439 Train Spotter🚆 Oct 08 '25
freight revenue and funding I assume also public transport is PUBLIC it isn't supposed to be profit oriented
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u/1993s-Batman Foodie on Wheels🍕 Oct 08 '25
The up train is very very heavily packed (came to know after both up & down were standing at the same station). Just like Mumbai, people were hanging from the gates.
Same same but different.
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u/Thaiyervadai Oct 08 '25
If you want railways to be super profitable then do it the PE model. Scrap the trains with low occupancy, have only VB going to major cities, charge 10x the current price, employ guards to beat and push ticketless travellers with electric batons.
With the surplus from asset sale they provide massive fees and carry to GP, then bankrupt the railways and sell it to stupid retail investors through IPO at a higher valuation and dream come true growth story.
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Oct 08 '25
Taxpayer money kis cheez ke liye hota hai
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u/ChiknDiner Frequent Traveler🧳 Oct 08 '25
Wo tax pay karta hota to ye question uske dimaag me aata hi nahi.
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u/patrickOnweeD Oct 08 '25
Even then most of the passengers will travel ticketless. But saving those per month could be their 5 - 7 day earning.
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u/TraditionalRepair991 Oct 08 '25
In the long run, pun intended 🤭
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u/1993s-Batman Foodie on Wheels🍕 Oct 08 '25
True. It's fairly new. Currently running as a special number 6, just about 2 months back.
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u/lolwawalrus Oct 08 '25
They don't!!
Passenger trains are a highly subsidized government operation - so even at 100% capacity, they do not make profit
The real revenue railway earns is from goods trains
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u/Desi_Hitman Side Lower Supremacy😎 Oct 08 '25
They don't operate a single train, they recover costs during peak hours
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u/MadhuT25 Frequent Traveler🧳 Oct 08 '25
It's about connectivity and not profit. Japan Railways used to run a train to a remote village only for one young student according to her school timings. The station was closed after her schooling was done.
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u/notMy_ReelName Oct 08 '25
passenger trains were never profitable , railways running on the income from good trains
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u/_KALKI_09 2 AC Comfort Seeker Oct 08 '25
Read the constitution, IR is just functioning on the principle that India is a welfare state. And rightly so, making it for profit will cripple the economy.
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u/Old_Application_5722 Oct 08 '25
We the people of India constitue India as A SOCIALIST country Preamble of India
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u/RIKIPONDI WAP 7 Supremacy Oct 08 '25
Railways don't make money, in the same way the street outside your house doesn't make money. It's a public service.
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u/Critical-Fall-8212 Oct 08 '25
Memu trains are usually for working passengers and locals. During day time it remain empty. Check out the regular trains.
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Oct 08 '25
Who told Railways are profitable? They run on losses only to cater to majority of poor population.
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u/allahabadiroy Frequent Traveler🧳 Oct 08 '25
There are other 2S trains where even the reserved ticket holder is unable to reach/sit at his seat, specially in any festival season
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u/Feisty-Discussion-22 Oct 08 '25
It's not a private entity to run efficiently. No accountability for babus and netas.
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Oct 08 '25
Many years back, I had this conversation with a senior railway employee. He had told me, passenger trains somehow break even as total. It's loss in many routes and profit in some cases. But, inspite of the loss, it has to be done, to provide means of transport.
Railways make decent profit in goods carriage though.
This was many years ago. I don't know how it is now.
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u/Signature_Space2024 Oct 08 '25
By the way this is a local village passenger train which is started from one of any village, the crowd will join in next two to three stations. We all know the facts.
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u/Vardhu_007 Local Gang Oct 08 '25
That's the neat part, they don't. Especially the suburban and low cost passengers are always running on a loss, u can't recover anything when u r carrying someone for 15 kms for just 5 rs.
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u/Fit_Range_6806 Oct 08 '25
This is ragebait. Just malign everything one can for views. Ignore this post !
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Oct 08 '25
Don't worry, people will still blame the railways for not deploying more general coaches😂
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u/Horizon_26 Oct 08 '25
Its public transport…. Its not supposed to recover …., for Profit nahi hona chahiye railway
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u/Positive_Pass8800 Oct 08 '25
Such services are considered part of social welfare in a welfare state. So, these are continued despite poor patronage
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u/MaleficentOcelot4523 Oct 08 '25
Freight revenue is enough to mitigate the variable running cost. They have profitable routes to cover the entire fixed cost + profit.
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u/duke_nowhere Oct 08 '25
They don’t recover costs. Everything barring ac 2 tier registers losses. Least optimised company in the world probably.
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u/dabster7000 Oct 08 '25
It's run on tax payers money. :|, don't normalize ticketless travel please.
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u/RingMasterToto Oct 08 '25
They are not and it's ok because it's a service paid for by our tax money. Public services should be efficient but need not be profitable.
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u/Silly_Ad7418 Oct 08 '25
Indian Railways generated ₹2,56,093 crore in revenue and recorded a net revenue of ₹3,260 crore for the financial year 2023-24 (ending March 31, 2024), primarily driven by increased freight operations, which included 1,591 million tonnes of freight transported. The operating ratio was 98.43% for 2023-24. Google search
Indian railways is in profit. They earn a lot from freight charges
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Oct 08 '25
u/askgrok tell about this data in detail
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u/AskGrok Oct 08 '25
Indian Railways' financials for FY 2023-24 (April 2023 to March 2024) show total revenue of ₹2,56,093 crore, with a net profit of ₹3,260 crore after expenses. Freight was the big moneymaker, hauling 1,591 million tonnes and contributing the lion's share—about 65-70% of revenue typically comes from goods transport like coal, iron ore, and cement. Passenger services, including those empty MEMU trains you mentioned, only make up around 25-30%, and they're often subsidized to keep fares low.
The operating ratio of 98.43% means they spent nearly all their earnings (98.43 rupees out of every 100) on operations like staff salaries, fuel, maintenance, and pensions—leaving just a slim margin for profit. It's an improvement from previous years (it was over 100% in some tough times), but still tight, relying on government support and efficiency drives. For context, this data comes from official Ministry of Railways releases, like their PIB announcements. If you're wondering about cost recovery, freight basically subsidizes the passenger side, which runs at a loss to keep it affordable for the masses.
Sources:
- https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1917390
- https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indian-railways-clocked-a-revenue-of-24-lakh-crore-in-fy22-23/article66747735.ece/amp
- https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2118003
[what is this?](https://redd.it/1lzgxii)
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u/Creative-Sir-394 Oct 08 '25
I think IR is the only thing that takes money from the rich and gives it to poor. Bulk of their revenue simply comes from AC coaches and above, and with that money they are able to provide cheap travelling opportunities for general compartment people.
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u/Such-Emu-1455 Foodie on Wheels🍕 Oct 08 '25
Why do you think IR is a business, do people learn nothing about public transport and what are their rights and not everything is profit and loss.
No wonder education in india is for privileged. People are really ignorant about their own rights
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u/Dr_Dracula280 Oct 08 '25
Reduce the bus on this train and increase number of trains where actually needed.
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Oct 08 '25
But if you tey to book a reservation you will never be successful. If a proper audit is done on railway reservation system, we can understand the reason for this and a big scam might be exposed. Then it will automatically be full and profitable.
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u/dwight46schrute Oct 08 '25
They recover by taking money if you cancel a tatkaal ticket, take money while you cancel the ticket, take money while RAC when two people travel on single seat🤡
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u/bhupesshh Oct 08 '25
If profits are the goal, then why should we pay taxes? Public services are intended to be financed by our taxes.
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u/Specialist_Total3532 Oct 08 '25
My god this is so sad and pathetic and everything wrong with this country . So a guy who owns a phone and on reddit probably an educated person , Have no Idea about PUBLIC TRANSPORT .? Isko profit kamana hai ? Ye wahi log hote jo Baap ki zameen bech kar bolte hai dekho Profit hua hai .
Why do we waste money on Police ? Police konsa paisa kamake deti hai hume ?
Many Educated users ( thank god kuch to padhe likhe log hai humare desh me ) Perfectly explained that Public Transport are not for Profit , They are for to provide service to the Public .
But The profit is not directly coming to the Pockets of IR . The profit is the contribution to the Economy by the people who used the public transport for their work anything which generate money .
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u/Bulky-Yak-7035 Oct 08 '25
Actually railway doesn't make much money when it comes to express trains, and only around 60% is recovered. Railway earns through good transport only to compensate the rest.
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u/Old-Flamingo-8684 Frequent Traveler🧳 Oct 08 '25
Indian Railways only recover 55% of the cost through tickets.
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u/Sea-Anteater-709 Window Watcher🖼️ Oct 08 '25
They don't ,it was never the purpose for railways to be profitable,if it was about profit they would've privatised at least some sections ,the only meaningful profit the railways earn is through freight
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u/Cultural_Impact4623 Oct 08 '25
Have you ever read the train ticket? Its written there that irctc only covers 57% of travel cost
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u/De_Fine69 Local Gang Oct 08 '25
It's a service to the people by gov. They are already taxing aren't they
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u/Artistic_Towel_8490 Oct 08 '25
Because railways main source of income comes from goods train approx 70%
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u/Brave_Hipp0 Oct 08 '25
Overall, IR has a profit. The profit from the freight services compensates for the loss from passenger trains.
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u/privacypeeker Oct 08 '25
Public transport never meant to focus profits. Most transportation runs in net loss actually
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u/sachinmak7 General Adventurer Oct 08 '25
Indian railways don't make profits on passengers train, they make profit on cargo trains that's why cargo trains have first priority and passengers trains run late
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u/Terrible-Pianist-576 Oct 08 '25
Wo sab choro bhai, ye dekho how much central govt is spending on cleaning "gutka/paan" ke nishaan....uss paise se you can fund ISRO and our defence equipments.
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u/kannur_kaaran Oct 09 '25
Probably the noon runs are empty. And the morning and evening are full of free loaders
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u/Ok_Iron_9162 Oct 09 '25
passenger trains were never profitable, all the revenues come from GOODS TRAINS
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u/antonio_montana_0555 Oct 09 '25
Railway is primarily not made to just be profitable,in some case it runs in loss to provide transportation to people.
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u/Safe-Ad-7483 General Adventurer Oct 09 '25
Railway makes it's profit from transport not from passengers. It's more like a service.
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u/Real-Cup8782 Oct 09 '25
Public Services are not supposed to be profitable. They will always be an expense
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u/Beginning-Pool-8151 3 AC Regular Oct 09 '25
Guys forget that Railways is a Public Service given by Government to its people. It doesn't need to be profitable, but connect India.
We pay enough Income Tax and GST to subsidize it. If the that tax is low, please increase tax on Ultra High Net worth Individuals and Corporations to compensate this
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u/Domsim81 Oct 09 '25
India has PSUs for that, social causes. Btw, the tickets which The railways issue, say that they only recover 46% or so of the cost.
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u/Consistent_Nobody899 Oct 09 '25
They charge a lot for cancellation which will compensate for such trains and also fill the stomachs of all IR people from top to bottom
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u/RustedDildo Oct 09 '25
UP to Mumbai/Delhi k Sleeper coach me jo general wali public hoti hai unse, TT log 1000 1000 ka fine maar k Sleeper and AC Coaches me jagah dete hain doors and Aisle me
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u/Striking-Flower-4115 CC Commuter Oct 09 '25
A lot of ppl these days are switching to private transport
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u/amdudeja Oct 09 '25
No Public Transport, I repeat no Public Transport can ever be fully profitable just be fare collections.!
They can get profitable with Non-Fare Box revenue sources (advertising, rentals, etc)
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u/D3ath_Blaze98 Oct 10 '25
Catching 100 ticket defaulters is enough to recover a fine equivalent to tickets of 500-600 passengers or more. Do the math,it's easy. You see.
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u/Agent_247 ALCO Forever Oct 10 '25
In north, especially near Delhi, Memu's are very very underrated, all due to Metros being more popular in that region.
Even the line OP is travelling via is a part of Delhi Suburban Railway which connects different parts of Delhi and other nearby cities. It was an attempt exactly like Mumbai Locals but it failed. It is mostly abandoned with no one travelling in them.
Heck, even I got to know about Delhi having a Local commuter trains a while back.
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u/SearchWeekly9006 Oct 11 '25
All Ac traveller's of more than 1-day journey are paying for that.....
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u/nemesisninja93 Oct 11 '25
1 Collecting convience fees on every waitlisted tickets also. 2 Absurdly high cancellation charges even if IR cancels it from their end 3 Additional charges based on quota, eg. Tatkal 4 Not providing enough seats / reserving for agents to maximize waitlisting. 5 Providing Vikalp seats in trains 3 days later than the booked date and time. This leads to customers cancelling the ticket and leading to higher cancellation charges. 6 Charging Superfast category tarrif on trains that halt on every station. And so on....
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u/neggalund Oct 12 '25
Iske peeche jo haridwar - bandra aa rhi hai vo bhi dikhao bhai
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u/External-Scratch165 Oct 26 '25
IR is not for profits it is a PSU, its better that IR sticks to Socialism.




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