The Indian Railways said it expects earnings from passenger traffic to rise 9 per cent to to Rs 26,126.47 crore in the next fiscal. According to the Railway Budget,Rs 24,350.10 crore would come from non-suburban passengers while Rs 1,776.37 crore from suburban traffic. For the current fiscal,the earning estimates are at Rs 24,057.03 crore. The Railways has also said it would carry 777 crore passengers in the next fiscal,an increase of over 5 per cent compared to the current financial year. Commuters ferried by the Railways in 2009-10 stands at 737 crore,according to the Budget. It is expected that in the next fiscal,over 404 crore passengers would come from the suburban areas and 372 crore from the non-suburban areas. In the next fiscal,the suburban commuters traveling ordinary second class along with the non-suburban travelers are expected to bring in the chunk of the revenues. Out of the Rs 1,776 crore revenue estimated from suburban passengers in the next fiscal,the Railways has targeted Rs 1,523 crore from ordinary second class.
