Railways have registered a shortfall in revenue to the tune of Rs. 4121.49 crores during the first half of the current financial year from April to September, Rajya Sabha was told on Friday.
Railways had earmarked Rs. 68,139.30 crores as its earnings in the budget target upto September 2013 whereas its actual earnings were Rs. 64,017.81 crores, Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said in a written reply to the House.
The shortfall has been contributed by both passenger and freight segments, he said.
In the passenger segment, the shortfall is primarily due to lesser number of originating passengers, reduction in advance ticket booking from 120 days to 60 days.
For the goods segment, while the loading target has been exceeded, the shortfall in earnings is due to restriction on mining activities in various parts of the country among others.
However, there is an increase of Rs. 5936 crores in revenue during this period as compared to the corresponding period the previous year.