PALAKKAD: Eleven railway stations in Kerala have featured among the top 25 Southern Railway units with the highest originating-passenger revenues in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Thiruvananthapuram Central came fourth in the list (Rs 262 crore), after Chennai Central (Rs 1215.79 crore), Chennai-Egmore (Rs 564.17 crore), and Coimbatore Junction (Rs 324.99)
“Unlike other main divisions under the Southern Railway, Kerala doesn’t have adequate infrastructure facilities like a full-fledged integrated coaching terminal and speedy tracks. We do not even have enough train services to meet the passenger demands. However, Kerala continues to be a key revenue generator for the railways,” said a senior railway official.
The official added that the introduction of premium services such as Vande Bharat trains, along with several festival-season special services, helped boost revenue from the state.
Overall, Southern Railway posted an annual gross revenue of Rs 12,020 crores in the 2023-24 fiscal. Of this, the annual gross from originating passenger earnings stood at Rs 7,151 crore. Meanwhile, originating-freight earnings stood at Rs 3,674 crore.