Tough tussle ahead between rail and airways

New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, the turnaround man of Indian Railways, gave the parting gift to rail passengers when he presented his fifth Rail Budget. The rail passengers are indeed overjoyed with the cut in fares.
This can give the airline companies sleepless nights as passengers may find it easy and affordable to board trains rather then fly.
Therefore, it becomes important to explain how the two categories of fares compare especially after the recent cuts announced in the Rail Budget.
A Delhi-Mumbai rail ticket of AC-II will cost Rs 1,924.8 and in contrast, a ticket on a low cost airline on would cost about Rs 2,525.
Railways is definitely turning out to be cheaper and blame it on the various surcharges that airlines now levy despite the fact that an air ticket price on this route is merely worth Rs 500.
Still, most airlines are confident that they will not loose passengers on the longer routes because the railways lose steam when it comes to competing on travel time for the same distance.
27/02/08 NDTV.com

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2008, Low Cost General Feb 2008