Launch of Vande Bharat Express Trains has led to reduction in airfare by 20-30% according to the industry estimate; this has been confirmed by the Chief PRO of Central Railway (CR), Shivraj Manaspure.
New Delhi: Vande Bharat Express Trains are one of the most popular and loved trains in the country that have the perfect combination of comfort and affordability. First launched four years ago, in February 2019, there are now 34 Vande Bharat Express trains in India as of September 24, 2023; the trains include 14 sixteen-car services and 20 eight-car services. Several new Vande Bharat Express Trains are also being flagged off, to improve connectivity between cities. For the first time, railways is monitoring the demand of Vande Bharat Express trains on the basis of the age and gender of passengers. An important thing has been noted that the launch of these express trains have caused airfare to dip, by 20-30%. Know more about it..
Airfare Drops By 20-30% After Vande Bharat Express Trains Launch
The PRO of Central Railway (CR), Shivraj Manaspure, as quoted in a Hindustan Times report, says, “During this period the average occupancy of children (1-14 years) was around 5% while transgenders contributed to 4.5% of the total passengers in Vande Bharat. As per the industry estimate, there has been a drastic fall of 10-20% in air traffic and a drop in airfares by 20%-30% after the launch of Vande Bharat trains.”
Vande Bharat Express Trains: Demand Based On Age, Gender
As mentioned earlier, for the first time, railways is looking at monitoring the demand for Vande Bharat trains, on the basis of gender and age of passengers. As per the data collected by the Central Railways (CR), in Mumbai, the highest number of Vande Bharat Express trains’ passengers are in the age group of 31-45 years which is followed by 15-30 years of age. The CR statistics also include data on the basis of the passengers’ gender for Vande Bharat Express Trains travelling from Mumbai to Shirdi, Mumbai to Goa and Mumbai to Solapur, between September 15 to October 13.
The data says that during this period, there were 85,600 male passengers, 26 transgenders and 57,838 female passengers. The Railways is also trying to popularise the trains even more and also increase footfall; the occupancy data in September, for Vande Bharat trains from Mumbai to Shirdi, Madgaon and Solapur is between 77-101%.
