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The Railways is expected to incur a social cost of ₹38,000 crore this financial year, against almost ₹40,000 crore in the last financial year (2016-17).
About a fourth of the total social cost would be towards maintaining law and order and meeting staff welfare requirements. The ₹38,000-crore figure was arrived at through the Railway Ministry estimates prepared in February.
In 2016-17, the total social service obligation was at ₹39,607.5 crore, according to the Ministry estimates, of which almost a fourth (₹9,968 crore) was on staff welfare and maintaining law and order.
In the last four years, fiscal 2014 was the year where the share of expense on staff welfare and law and order was the lowest — at just over a fifth of the total expenditure (22 per cent).
Losses registered while providing passenger services vary according to various travel segments.
A recent CAG report noted that the subsidy provided to both ordinary class and suburban services increased almost continuously in the last five years with subsidy on ordinary class (non AC, un-reserved) being the highest.
The percentage of loss in various classes of passenger services ranged from a low of 0.40 per cent (air conditioned chair car) to a whopping 81 per cent for air conditioned first class with 65.19 per cent on electrical multiple unit suburban train services.
Issuing free and concessional fare tickets to various beneficiaries also contributed to such losses, noted CAG.
In absolute terms, the suburban losses have ranged between ₹4,139 crore (fiscal 2014) and ₹5,389 crore (fiscal 2017). These losses are borne by the Railways unlike in Delhi Metro’s case, where the Delhi government bears the losses.
Giving up subsidy
Interestingly, senior citizens have started giving up their subsidised fares.
Till February 22 — in the last one year since the Railways started giving an option to the senior citizens to part with half or full subsidy — almost 18 lakh senior citizens have decided to give up their subsidy.
Back of the envelop calculations show a senior citizen passenger on an average gave up around ₹165 per ticket, assuming the total amount was foregone by almost 18 lakh people.
According to an official release, 9.08 lakh senior citizens gave up their entire concessional value whereas 8.55 lakh senior citizens gave up 50 per cent of concessional value of passenger fare for 12 months ending February 22 this year.
Thanks to senior citizens giving up their subsidies, the Railways earned ₹28.98 crore in 2017-18.
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