The Hindu Business Line : Rlys pares Rs 1,240 cr in working expenses

THE ongoing austerity drive by the Railways has yielded results, with the organisation shaving off Rs 1,240 crore from its working expenses. With the total savings by the end of the year likely to touch Rs 1,700 crore, the Railways is confident of closing 2003-04 with an operating ratio of about 93 per cent.

"Till the end of November, we have saved Rs 1,240 crore and hope to take the figure to Rs 1,700 crore by the end of the year. We believe that we will be able to contain our operating ratio at under 93 per cent as against a Budget estimate of 94.1 per cent," the Railway Board Chairman, Mr R.K. Singh told Business Line.

The Railways aims to bring down the operating ratio to about 90 in the next two years. As per the Budget estimates of last financial year, the operating ratio had been projected at 94.4, but the Railways improved it to 92.5. In contrast, the ratio had touched 96 per cent in 2001-02 and 98.3 in 2000-01.

Operating ratio denotes the total working expenses as a percentage of the gross traffic receipts. In simple terms, it means the amount of money spent by the Railways to earn every Rs 100. The lower the figure, the better is the Railways' profitability.

According to the Budget estimates for 2003-04, the Railways has projected a total operating expenditure of Rs 40,850 crore and has projected earnings from operations at Rs 43,495 crore. As per the provisional figures for 2002-03, the expenses had been pegged at Rs 38,153 crore while the traffic receipts were Rs 40,867 crore.