Mohammad Askari’s Post

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General Manager @ GMR Airports | Business Development | Non Aero | Airport Commercial | Airport PPP

In fiscal year 2023-24, Indian Railways transported 6.9 billion passengers. Of these, nearly 300 million travelled in air-conditioned (A.C.) coaches, with an annualised growth rate of 12% between FY19 and FY24. In contrast, domestic air traffic increased by 2% during the same period, totaling about 154 million passengers. Before COVID-19, Indian air carriers had an average domestic yield of approximately ₹3 to ₹3.5. On the other hand, Indian Railways' air-conditioned coaches generated an average yield of around ₹1.4, ranging from ₹2.8 for A.C. 1st class to ₹1.4 for A.C. 3 tier & A.C. chair cars. From a consumer standpoint, same distance domestic air travel costs up to 2.6 times more than air-conditioned train travel (approximately 1.3 times more for A.C. 1st class). While both serve as inter-city transportation options, they differ significantly from a product standpoint. Domestic flights can cover a 500 km journey in just about 50 minutes, whereas the fastest trains take up to 6 hours for the same distance. While speed favors air travel, the comfort of A.C. train travel has notably improved with newer A.C. coaches and better-quality trains. The correlation in demand for both services on shared routes may not be direct; factors like seat availability and scheduling often influence the choice between the two. However the key point to note, significant growth in A.C. rail travel indicates that travelers prioritize comfort and experience. There's potential to shift more passengers to air travel, even at a higher cost. To accomplish this, it's crucial to prioritize superior comfort and experience, not just speed, to effectively leverage the potential consumer surplus. #travel #airtravel #railtravel Yield: operating revenue per passenger kilometer Data source: DGCA, Indian Railways, PIB

Rajeev N.

Corporate Strategy, Partnership Architect, Digital Twins

6mo

Mohammad Askari Intresting analysis comparing air travel to rail network. Even though average time for a 500 km on air travel is 50 minutes, need to take into account total time pax spends from travel to airport, holding time at airport and finally reaching the destination city which could be well over 3 hours. With vande bharat services we could connect city pairs faster as rail infrastructure and service improves. I cite this example looking at Jan to Apr data for COK - BLR pax air travel data which has shown close to 30% decline from same period in 2023.

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