RAIPUR: The nation’s most profitable railway zone — South East Central Railway (SECR), has suffered a monthly loss of over Rs 100 crore with the cancellation of all passenger trains previous month even as the receipts from the freight loading continues to move at sluggish pace owing to the downturn during the ongoing nationwide lockdown.
In the month of April this year, the SECR comprising of three divisions of Bilaspur, Raipur and Nagpur has witnessed a loss of Rs 100 crore as all passenger trains remain halted across the country.
“We carry around one crore passenger every month in both reserved and unreserved segments with an approximate monthly revenue close to Rs 95-100 crore in the SECR zone. With no movement of any passenger train, the income on this account is nil. Freight trains to some extent are operating as usual but there is a decline on that front too due to the lockdown”, said Santosh Kumar, a senior public relation officer (SECR zone).
There is also a monthly revenue loss of Rs 2 crore in the segment of parcel booking despite allowing the essential commodities.
The railway officials feared for the zone likely to face the worst operating profit during the current fiscal year owing to the lockdown and COVID-19 outbreak. During the normal days, over 100 passenger trains and around 200 freight carriers pass through this route of SECR every day.