File photo of passengers thronging the Secunderabad railway station ahead of the Sankaranti festival.
| Photo Credit: G. Ramakrishna
South Central Railway (SCR) has carried close to 200 million originating passengers, including 35 lakh on special trains and by adding extra coaches to the existing trains, during the first nine months of the financial year of 2023-24 till December, informed General Manager Arun Kumar Jain on Friday.
It got ₹4,286 crore as passenger revenue by running 4,267 special trains and 5,028 extra coaches attached to express trains with the overall revenue being a record high of ₹14,738 crore, higher by ₹950 crore over previous year. Revenue from transporting 100 metric tonnes of freight has been ₹10,000 crore, he said after unfurling the national flag and and receiving the the guard of honour presented by various contingents of Railway Protection Force on the occasion of Republic Day.
The zone has spent ₹13,452 crore in capital expenditure, the highest ever in its history during the first nine months of any financial year in 2023-24 till December towards creation of rapid infrastructure like 11 km of new lines, 105 km of double lines and and 96 km of third line works.
Mission Electrification got a major push with nearly 94% of the existing broadgauge rail network completing electrification. It has also completed 468 km of track renewal works during the period, another record feat, he disclosed
Mr. Jain said safety continues to be foremost priority with 41 manned level crossings eliminated to enhance road and rail safety while 21 Road under Bridges (RUBs) and six Road over Bridges (ROBs) were constructed, apart from rehabilitating 91 existing bridges.
Prime Minister Modi himself had flagged-off four ‘Vande Bharat’ express trains, 13 MMTS train services and two passenger train services on different occasions. Two pairs of express trains and one passenger train services were introduced, 18 express trains and 20 MMTS suburban services were extended to new destinations during the year.
The RPF had rescued more than 1,500 children and recovered ₹1.27 crore railway property. Nearly 119 stations across are being redeveloped at a cost of nearly ₹7,000 crore as part of “Amrit Bharat Station Scheme”, said a press release.