Railways loses 150 million passengers in first 5 months of this fiscal

Delhi, Sep 18: Railways officials are worried as there is a significant drop in passengers travelling in trains despite no hike in fares. According to reports, Indian railways has lost 150 million passengers in the first five months of this fiscal year. The issue came up for discussion at General Managers meeting held on September 15. Minister of Railways for State Manoj Sinha expressed concern over the sudden decline in railway passenger traffic. There must be something wrong with numbers as the trains are always full and one cannot even get reservation, he said. Railway officials attributed the fall in passenger traffic to rise in ticketless travel and shift in passengers choice due to improved road transport facilities.