The Hindu Business Line : Rlys freight earnings rise 17% in Oct

New Delhi, Nov. 9 The Indian Railways earned Rs 4,801.65 crore in October, registering a healthy 16.63 per cent growth over the corresponding period last fiscal, informed Railway Ministry officials.

The increase is due to a mix of healthy traffic growth and low base effect. In October 2008, the Railways had recorded a marginal dip in goods traffic volumes over October 2007. The exact commodity-wise traffic break-up is not available at present.

The total Railway earnings in October 2009 — at Rs 7,172.65 crore — were 14.67 per cent higher than October 2008. The earnings from passenger movement went up by 12.8 per cent over October 2008, with the Railways raking in Rs 2,050.85 crore.

7-MONTH DATA

According to an official release, for April 1–October 31, 2009 period, the total earnings were at Rs. 48,322.23 crore, registering an increase of 8.31 per cent, compared to Rs 44,614.15 crore during the same period last year. Meanwhile, the total goods earnings have gone up to Rs 32,452.79 crore during the period, an increase of 7.47 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal. The total passenger revenue earnings during first seven months of the financial year 2009-10 were Rs 1,3626.74 crore against Rs 12,575.06 crore during the same period last year, up 8.36 per cent.

The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs 1,317.72 crore during period, up 16.87 per cent.