Blood on the tracks of India’s railways

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India has the fourth-largest railway network in the world, following the United States, Russia and China. It serves around 23 million passengers on 14,000 trains daily. However, in terms of passenger service and rail safety, Indian Railways’ record is badly lacking compared to its global peers.

Over 100,000 train-related deaths occurred in India between 2017 and 2021, according to a 2022 report published by the National Crime Records Bureau. This figure includes cases in which passengers fell from carriages and were hit by speeding trains in addition to train collisions. 

Most recently, on October 27, at least 10 people were injured, with two in critical condition, following a stampede at Mumbai’s busy Bandra Terminal triggered by a surge of travelers returning to their hometowns for the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals. A video of the incident went viral on social media. 

Major stations across India have seen a massive surge of passengers. During holidays, people who have migrated to big cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore for various reasons—mainly employment—head home by train. 

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that a record 7,345 new special trains are operating to accommodate passengers during the festive season. However, the reality on the ground reveals that preparations are inadequate.

Passengers are being forced to sit in toilets due to overcrowding. This issue is common across many trains and is not new; similar conditions were observed last year and in previous years.

Despite the Narendra Modi government’s increased investment in railways, much of the funding has focused on launching new trains (like Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat) and enhancing speed and comfort, with little significant attention given to improving the safety of thousands of older trains or maintaining existing tracks.

Understaffed and accident-prone

The Ministry of Railways reports that in the 2023-24 financial year, there were 313 passenger deaths and four railway employee fatalities in 40 train accidents, the highest number in a decade.

Twelve rail accidents have already been recorded in 2024. The 2022 annual report by India’s top audit body, CAG, cites serious inspection shortfalls, delayed inquiry reports, misuse of dedicated railway funds, declining track renewal funding and insufficient staffing in safety operations as key factors behind these accidents.

According to the rail minister’s statements in Parliament, there are 312,000 non-gazette Indian Railways positions vacant across the country. More than 27,763 coaches (62%) lack fire extinguishers, violating regulations. This indicates poor management, resulting in the loss of lives and livelihoods.

Additionally, ticket pricing and availability raise further concerns. Under the Modi government, the average fare per train passenger per kilometer has surged by 107% (from 0.32 rupees in 2013-14 to 0.66 in 2021-22).

In contrast, during the Manmohan Singh government, the average fare increased only 33% (from 0.24 in 2003-04 to 0.32 in 2013-14). Despite this fare increase, implying higher revenues and funds to invest, service quality has declined, not improved, over time.

India’s trains are still bywords for overcrowding, poor hygiene and delays. Passengers often share videos showing that, despite having reserved seats, they are unable to sit in their booked places.

It all raises a bigger question: Is overcrowding simply a natural result of increased demand and the railway’s failure to accurately assess passenger capacity, or is there something more at play?

Scam in disguise

In India, railway tickets can be purchased at railway counters or through the official website (e-ticketing). Every major railway station has a reservation office.

Tickets are typically categorized as Unreserved or Reserved, with the latter divided into three types: Confirmed, RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation), and General Waitlist (GNWL).

A Confirmed ticket guarantees a reserved seat, RAC means you have a berth but will be sharing it and GNWL indicates that you don’t have a confirmed seat but may be assigned one if there are cancellations.

In 2020, the Modi government changed the refund rules for cancellations, aiming to promote paperless ticketing and reduce black market activity by touts and agents. Under the new rules, cancellation charges for unreserved, RAC, and waitlisted tickets are 30 rupees for unreserved (second class) and 60 rupees for second class (reserved), plus goods & service tax (GST), if canceled more than 30 minutes before the train’s scheduled departure. If canceled within 30 minutes of departure, no refund is granted.

This means Indian Railways is charging passengers for a service they haven’t provided, as they are forced to pay for canceling a berth that wasn’t even booked. Additionally, the inclusion of GST adds insult to injury to what many view as an unfair practice if not outright scam.

Recent Right to Information filings reveal that between 2021 and January 2024, Indian Railways earned an astonishing ₹1,229.85 crore (approximately $153.7 million) from passengers who booked tickets on the waiting list but ultimately did not travel. This averages out to over ₹400 crore ($50 million) per year.

This suggests that Indian Railways may intentionally maintain longer RAC and waiting lists, allowing them to deduct cancellation fees from passengers’ total fares. For instance, during Diwali week last year, from November 5 to 17, the Railways recorded 9.618 million ticket cancellations, including confirmed, RAC, and waitlisted tickets.

According to the Center for Railway Information System, 4.78 million cancellations (about 49%) were from waitlisted passengers across all quotas. This means Indian Railways earned ₹10 crores ($1.18 million) from cancellations of tickets with a final status of waiting list during that week.

As 99% of rail travelers come from poor and middle-income backgrounds, the millions generated from waiting ticket cancellations gouge the nation’s most vulnerable. This cancellation fee adds to the burden on ordinary people, especially poor migrant workers who rely on trains for their daily commutes to support their families.

The Modi government has effectively pushed rail travel beyond the reach of these individuals, undermining its role as a safe and convenient mode of public transportation.