Ye 55 percent subsidy ka calculation 2019-20 ke data pe based hai, jo ki COVID-19 ka peak year tha jab passenger business down chala gaya tha. Regular saal jaise ki 2018-19 mein passenger revenue 51000 crores tha aur FY 2024-25 mein passenger segment revenue Rs. 90000 crores ke paas hogi. Ab agar hum current financial year ke liye estimate karein toh revenues 75000 se 78000 crores ke as paas honge. Issliye hum surakshit roop se keh sakte hai ki passenger revenue subsidy 25 percent tak zaroor ghat gayi hogi. IR ke paas COVID 19 se pehle ki daily average trains around 13500 thi, aur abhi IR daily average 10500 trains operate karta hai. IR ne lagbhag 1300 passenger class trains, 1200 mail/express trains ko viability na hone wale routes pe band kar diya hai aur 500+ passenger trains ko Mail/express trains mein upgrade kiya hai. Issse realisations improve hui hai aur operating expenditure kam hua hai. Saarvavyapi taur par, IR ne passenger revenues ko improve karne ke liye ek accha strategy apnaya hai, jisme unviable routes ko kam karne ka shamil hai, passenger trains ko Mail/express mein convert karna, AC berths ko reserved category mein 10 percent se 40 percent tak badhana, VB trains ka introduction karna, aadi. IR agle 3 saal mein passenger segment mein zero loss tak pahunch jayega, yeh toh sure hai, lekin iske liye woh chunav ke baad Second class aur Sleeper class ki fare 15 se 20 percent badhaye. Issse yeh segment bhi profitability tak pahunchega aur lower middle class ko IR ke long distance travel mein upyog karne ka mauka milega aur IR sabhi segments ki sewa karega.

IR doesn't wanna hike prices for second seater, sleeper, and suburban tickets 'cause of politics. The current government also wants to make money from passengers without pissing off the people who vote for them, mostly the lower middle class and middle class who use the trains every day to go back home two or three times a year. IR is finding ways to make more money without anyone noticing. Here's how they're doing it: 1. They're turning over 500 regular trains into express trains that go more than 200km. 2. They're slowly getting rid of sleeper class and adding more AC seats. The AC seats used to be only 10% of the total, now they're 40%. 3. They upgraded about 600 trains from regular to superfast. 4. They went from making 135 cr per day in 2018 to 200 cr per day in 2023. That means more cash. 5. They added 60,000 AC seats in VB trains and they're adding 100,000 more in 2024. Fancy, huh? 6. The big dream is to make IR earn 350 to 400 crore every day by carrying 1 crore passengers in long distance trains and getting rid of unreserved seats. 7. They wanna make half of the people in suburban areas travel in AC Vande Metro. 8. In 3 to 5 years, there won't be waitlists and there'll be 15,000 trains every day. But most of them will be profitable, and there won't be any subsidized tickets, not even for suburban travel. 9. In the meantime, we'll have to put up with the stress of having around 500 new trains every year, mostly in the fancy VB category. Hang in there for a bit longer.