Title - Vadodara rail division set to earn record breaking revenue

VADODARA: Riding high on growth from passenger and freight traffic, Vadodara railway division is all set to register its record breaking revenue this financial year. The railway division, which is the second largest revenue churner for the Western Railways, is set to cross the Rs 2,100 crores revenue mark - the highest in its history.Last year, the division had earned Rs 1,251 crores as freight and passenger revenue. Interestingly, even before the financial year ends, the division clocked Rs 1,810 crores worth revenue from its freight and passenger operations by January end.Revenue from freight traffic alone crossed Rs 1,551 crores by January-end contributing significantly to Western Railway's revenue earning which stands at Rs 7,446 crores. In contrast, last financial year, Vadodara division's revenue from freight was Rs 982 crores."This growth, especially in revenue from freight, is largely due to the growth of the Dahej corridor and development of railway infrastructure there for freight operations. With Hazira which is serviced by Vadodara division, being developed as country's petrochemicals hub, the region holds big promise which in turn will act as a catalyst to the region's development," divisional railway manager of Vadodara railway division Naveen Kumar Shukla told TOI on Friday.

Commissioned in 2011, the Dahej line got into full swing in March 2012. The 67 kilometre rail line to Dahej is acting as a big infrastructure facility with an average of five coal loaded trains traversing the distance on daily basis while serving Adani Enterprises' port at Dahej.

"Between April 2012 and January this year, we have already earned a revenue worth Rs 500 crores from the Dahej line alone which is generating an average of Rs 2 crores worth freight revenue on daily basis," said Shukla. He added that container terminals at Ankleshwar, too, have seen a marginal growth.

The division, which handles 120 passenger trains apart from 100 freight trains, is also witnessing steady growth of passenger traffic. If last year, there were 7.27 crore passengers originating from Vadodara division, this year, the number has crossed 7.6 crore.

In terms of revenue growth from passenger traffic, the division is witnessing 12 percent growth. While it had earned Rs 200 crores from passenger traffic by January end in 2012, this year, the division has earned Rs 225 crores. Against last year when it had clocked Rs 246 crores revenue, it is hoping to earn Rs 276 crores by the end of this financial year.