Understanding Passenger Demand for the Indian Railways: Issues and Perceptions in a Socio-Demographic Framework

This report highlights the vital role of the Indian Railways in the network mode of transportation, given that it will cater to an estimated 2036 billion passenger kilometres by 2020. To bridge the survey gap of detailed profiling (95 per cent of railway passengers travel in non- reserved category), a household survey of two distinct categories of passengers (suburban and non-suburban) was attempted in a scientific two-stage process to capture detailed responses with a clearly outlined distribution framework. The household survey focused on members of the sample households in the catchment area of the selected Centres. The findings indicate that the  passengers who are willing to pay a higher fare also demand a proportionate increase in the quality of services they receive at stations and on-board. The travel demands of the sample households are high and the responses linked to their willingness to pay more for services provided by IR are varied and sometimes mutually inclusive. The final report titled, “Understanding Passenger Demand for the Indian Railways: Issues and Perception in a Socio-Demographic Framework”, was released in a conference held on October 25, 2012, in New Delhi.