‘Railways gave `59,837 cr subsidy on passenger tickets in 2019-20’

The Indian Railways offered a subsidy of Rs 59,837 crore on passenger tickets in 2019-20 and the concession still continues, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Vaishnaw shared the information in response to a question by Congress MP Anto Antony from Kerala regarding restoring pre-Covid concessions for different categories of railway passengers.

“The Indian Railways always strives to provide affordable services to all strata of the society and gave a subsidy of Rs 59,837 crore on passenger tickets in 2019-20,” the minister said.

“This amounts to a concession of 53 per cent on an average to every person travelling on Railways. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers,” he said.

According to Vaishnaw, concessions beyond this subsidy amount are continuing for many categories like four categories of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans), 11 categories of patients and eight categories of students.

About 18 lakh patients and their escorts availed this special concession during 2022-23.

Asked whether the government has received any requests for restoration of concession to the railway passengers, the minister said, “Representations/Requests/Suggestions from different quarters are received through different channels at Division level, Zonal Railways, Ministry of Railways and even at station levels, etc.”

Moreover, the minister informed the Lok Sabha that the Indian Railways has an annual average requirement of 4,40,000 wheels for manufacture and maintenance of wagons, coaches and locos and the shortfall in domestic supply is met through imports.

According to the minister, the current demand is fulfilled by the supply of wheels from Rail Wheel Factory, Bengaluru; Rail Wheel Plant, Bela (Bihar); SAIL, Durgapur Steel Plant; and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL),

Rae Bareli. “Only shortfall requirement of wheels is met through imports as per existing policy guidelines of Government of India,” Vaishnaw said in a written reply.