New Delhi, July 26: Despite being launched amid much fanfare a couple of years back, some of the Garib Rath trains have not been well received by passengers, according to the CAG.
In its report for the year 2008-09, the Comptroller and Auditor General has said that the occupancy rate in some Garib Raths has been as low as eight percent and suggested the need to consider minimum occupancy norms prior to introduction of such trains.
It cited the example of Kolkata-Patna Garib Rath, saying the occupancy rate in this train was barely “eight percent in chair car and only 22 percent in AC three tier in 2007-08.”
Likewise, the occupancy of Garib Rath “between Raipur and Lucknow was only 32 percent,” it said.
It found that the earnings from the subsidised AC travel were not sufficient to cover the cost of haulage of eight out of 11 Garib Rath trains reviewed.
A series of such trains, billed as the poor man’s Rajdhani, were introduced during the tenure of previous Railway Minister Lalu Prasad with the intention of providing AC comfort to poor travellers at affordable prices. The project was considered close to Lalu’s heart.
The Railways had even claimed that these trains were doing a good business.
No such trains have been introduced in this year’s Rail Budget.
The report also put forth instances when newly added trains or coaches in trains ran empty for quite some time because the Railways failed to update the passenger reservation system.
It cited an AC coach of a popular express train in Bihar which ran empty for over two-and-a-half years because of this. Non availability of data in PRS system meant passengers were unable to book a seat.
The report said the AC chair car coach was added on July 16, 2004 to the Danapur-Rajgir Intercity Express but the coach was included in the passenger reservation system data only from March 20, 2007 onwards.
“The delay led to a loss of Rs 0.72 crore as the coach made 1,954 trips between July 2004 and March 2007,” the report said.
The CAG report said new trains were introduced in Western Railway and South Western Railway but it took over three months to get their data incorporated in the passenger reservation system.
All this while, passengers could not book a berth in reserved coaches of these train.
–PTI