Central Railway, Western Railway lose crores on cancellations, refunds

From March 23 to July 1, commodities weighing more than 68,600 tonnes have been transported by WR. File pic

Central and Western Railway on Friday said they have sustained losses to the tune of around R3,000 crore ever since the lockdown began in March 2020. The losses are due to train cancellations, revenue earning from regular means, refunds and compensation to passengers. "The total loss of earnings over Western Railway (WR) on account of COVID-19 has been R1,567.98 crore, which includes R227.99 crore for Mumbai suburban section and R1,339.99 crore for non-suburban," a senior WR official said.

"In spite of this, following cancellation of tickets till now, WR has ensured refunds of R381.69 crore. It's worth mentioning that in this refund amount, Mumbai division alone has ensured refunds of more than Rs 181.19 crore," a WR spokesperson said.

Till now 59.33 lakh passengers who have cancelled their tickets on WR have received their refund amounts.

On the CR, too, the overall losses are to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore at the zonal level. "From March 23 till June end, more than 54 lakh passengers cancelled tickets originating on CR Mumbai with total refunds amounting to Rs 387.02 crore," a CR spokesperson said.

WR officials said since March 23 to July 1, commodities weighing more than 68,600 tonnes have been transported by WR through its 374 parcel special trains, which mainly included agricultural produce, medicines, fish, milk, etc. The earnings generated through this transportation have been approximately R21.99 crore.

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