Railways in Bihar losing Rs 9 crore per day after cancellation of trains over COVID-19

PATNA: With the cancellation of all mail, express and passengers trains originating and passing through the jurisdiction of East Central Railway (ECR), which is headquartered at Hajipur in Bihar, the railways is staring at a loss of around Rs 9 crore per day.

Thousands of vendors who were selling items in trains or on the platforms and outside stations have also lost their livelihoods.

According to official sources, a total of 274 mail and express trains and 389 passengers trains under the jurisdiction of the ECR have been cancelled with effect from March 22 to 23 respectively in a move to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection due to close proximity amongst passengers.

“The ECR has been making an approximate earning of Rs 9 crores daily from passenger services. As we have cancelled all passenger trains, our loss of revenue per day is around Rs 9 crore,” he said.

If the cancellation of all trains continued throughout the 21-day lockdown period till midnight on April 14, the ECR will suffer a total loss of Rs 189 crore.