New Delhi: Railways have registered a shortfall in revenue to the tune of Rs. 4121.49 crores during the first half of the current financial year from April to September, Rajya Sabha was told on Friday.
Railways had earmarked Rs. 68,139.30 crores as its earnings in the budget target upto September 2013 whereas its actual earnings were Rs. 64,017.81 crores, Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said in a written reply to the House.
The shortfall has been contributed by both passenger and freight segments, he said.
In the passenger segment, the shortfall is primarily due to lesser number of originating passengers, reduction in advance ticket booking from 120 days to 60 days.
For the goods segment, while the loading target has been exceeded, the shortfall in earnings is due to restriction on mining activities in various parts of the country among others.
However, there is an increase of Rs. 5936 crores in revenue during this period as compared to the corresponding period the previous year.
Rail fractureWith the onset of winter, Railways is facing problems of rail fracture as more than 2,000 such cases were reported this year.
The total number of rail fracture cases are 2,110 till October this year with the damage cost at Rs 14.41 lakh, the Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
Detailed study and analysis in this regard was done at Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) in Lucknow and it was found that the fractures are caused due to reduced ductility at welded locations and lowering of ambient temperature during winter season induces tensile stresses in rails, he said.
However, he denied that quality of rails procured from PSUs is one of the major factors causing fractures.
The rails are manufactured in Bhilai Steel Plant as per the requirement of existing rail specifications fixed by the railways, Chowdhury said.
