85% passenger trains to be operated within a month: Piyush Goyal

Railways will gradually restart services based on the demand coming from passengers, the minister said.

Around 85 per cent of passenger trains will be operated within a month, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said.

Railways will gradually restart services based on the demand coming from passengers, the minister told media. “As of now, 95 per cent of suburban trains are operational. Mail and express trains are back to 75 per cent of what it was before the pandemic and will be 85 per cent within a month," he said.

"On the other hand, we are handling more freight trains than what it was during the normal time,” he said.

The national transporter is expected to handle at least 10 million tonne (MT) more freight traffic by the end of this financial year compared to the pre-Covid level. During the first nine days of March, freight traffic was seen up by 6.75 per cent compared to the same time last year, he said

Separately, in a written reply in Lok Sabha, the Minister said Indian Railways has prepared a National Rail Plan (NRP) to create a "future ready" Railway system by 2030.

The NRP is aimed to formulate strategies based on both operational capacities and commercial policy initiatives to increase the modal share of the Railways in freight to 45 per cent.

The objective of the National Rail Plan is to create capacity ahead of demand, which in turn would also cater to future growth in demand. It will also increase the modal share of Railways to 45 per cent in freight traffic, the Minister said.