Prabhu plans more railway revenue via non-fare sources

Leaving fares unchanged while railway finances are under strain, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Thursday the Indian Railways would increase its revenue through non-fare sources.

Railway revenue through non-fare sources would be increased to the world average of 10 percent -- from less than five percent that it currently is -- over the next five years, said Prabhu, presenting the Rail Budget 2016-17 to parliament.

Some of the non-fare sources of income he outlined are station redevelopment programme to monetise land and buildings through commercial exploitation of vacant land, monetising land along tracks and soft assets like data collected on passenger preferences, ticketing and commodity, etc.

The Railways also plan to use its vast physical infrastructure for commercial exploitation through advertisement as well as liberalise its existing parcel policies to increase its non-fare revenues, the minister said.

The Indian Railways would also focus on increasing its productivity and better manufacturing practices, he added.

"It is aimed to generate annualised revenues of about Rs.4,000 crore by 2020," Prabhu said.