GUWAHATI, Oct 26 - The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdowns and economic downturn have made a noticeable impact on the earnings of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
The total approximate gross earnings on originating basis of NFR in the first half of the current 2020-21 financial year slumped by as much as 64.44 per cent on an annual basis.
NFR�s total revenue earnings during the April-September period of this fiscal stood at only Rs 634.32 crore as compared to Rs 1,783.86 crore during the corresponding period of 2019-20. The zone saw a fall in its earnings across all the segments � passenger, goods, �other coaching� and �sundry� � as the pandemic and the lockdown resulted in suspension of regular services and decline in demand for various non-essential commodities.
The passenger revenue of NFR during the first six months of the current fiscal plunged by an astounding 90.67 per cent year-on-year to a mere Rs 84.70 crore as against Rs 907.35 crore in the April-September period of 2019-20.
Revenue from other coaching also decreased by 80.01 per cent annually during the first half of this fiscal to Rs 27 crore from Rs 135.05 crore in the same period of last year.
Earnings from goods traffic on an originating basis declined by 29.26 per cent to Rs 475.57 crore during the period under review. NFR�s goods revenue had stood at Rs 672.25 crore in the corresponding period of the last financial year.
Similarly, sundry earnings of NFR in the first six months of 2020-21 also fell by 32.02 per cent to Rs 47.05 crore as against Rs 69.21 crore in the year-ago period.
The effect of the pandemic and the economic slowdown was evident across the Indian Railways with all the zones registering steep fall in earnings during the first half of this financial year.
Overall, the total gross earnings on originating basis of the Indian Railways came down by nearly 39 per cent on an annual basis to Rs 53,724.54 crore in the April-September period.
Meanwhile, the approximate number of passengers booked in the NFR zone came down to only 0.66 million during the period from April 1 to September 30 this year. This is a decrease of as much as 98.83 per cent over the figure of 56.38 million recorded during the corresponding period of last year.
�The numbers are as per expectations. In the passenger front, regular services were suspended in late March when the first nationwide lockdown was put in place. We gradually started operations of Shramik Special trains and then a few pairs of �Passenger Specials�. Regular passenger services are yet to be reintroduced and we are still only running some special trains. Besides, local and suburban services in the NFR zone continue to remain suspended. So the figures are not surprising. Still, the situation has improved in the second quarter compared to what it was in the first, when the passenger segment in our zone reported revenue loss in actual terms,� said an official.
He added that goods and other segments have shown signs of revival in recent months. �With the lockdown having been lifted and economic activities restarting across most sectors, the demand for commodities has started showing a rising trend. In addition, we have started various incentives to attract transporters, traders and business houses to boost freight traffic and the response has been good. We expect more good news from the goods segment in the coming months,� said the official.
He said, �As a public sector service provider, we are keener to ensure timely delivery of essential freight services. Profit and earnings are secondary in such extraordinary situations.�
