Lok Sabha Question No. 224 (STARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Trains from Jagdalpur
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Deepak Baij

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 224 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2021

## TRAINS FROM JAGDALPUR

†*224. SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of trains which used to run from Jagdalpur railway station in Chhattisgarh under East Coast Railway Zone before lockdown for Vishakhapatnam and various locations in Odisha;
- (b) the number of trains, out of these, which are not running at present;
- (c) the amount of loss suffered by the Railways as a result thereof;
- (d) the details of the trains running from Jagdalpur railway station at present along  with  the  time  by  which  the  remaining  trains  are  likely  to  become operational;
- (e) whether keeping in view the problems related to travelling, the Railways proposes to resume the operation of the discontinued trains in public interest at the earliest; and
- (f) whether any study has been carried out to assess the problems being faced by local people due to discontinuation of the said trains and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (f) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 224 BY SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 10.03.2021 REGARDING TRAINS FROM JAGDALPUR (a) to (f) To prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Railways discontinued  all  regular  passenger  carrying  trains  w.e.f.  23 rd   March,  2020  as  per the extant guidelines issued by Government of India.  For effective management of the  pandemic,  at  present,  only  special  trains  with  limited  stoppages  keeping  in view the concerns and suggestions of State Government are being operated. Prior to the discontinuation, Jagdalpur station was being served by 01 pair of Passenger trains  and  05  pair  of  Mail/Express  trains  including  18513/18514  VisakhapatnamKirandul Express and 58501/02 Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Passenger train providing connectivity  between  Jagdalpur  and  Visakhapatnam.  Besides,  major  cities  like Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Rayagada, Koraput etc. were also connected with  Jagdalpur.    In  view  of  the  prevailing  situation,  Indian  Railways,  w.e.f.  21 st January,  2021,  has  started  operating  08515/16  Visakhapatnam-Jagdalpur  Special Express inter  alia  to  cater  to  the  needs  of  passengers  of  Jagdalpur,  whose occupancy is being closely monitored. Over Indian Railways, regular monitoring of waiting list, temporary augmentation  and  running  of  clone  trains  is  being  done.  Train  services  are  also being operated as per operational and commercial justification and also based on suggestions and concerns of State Governments due to Covid-19 Pandemic. Indian Railways is keeping a close watch on the situation and is resuming train services in a phased manner. The overall profit  or  loss  of  Indian  Railways  is  calculated  at  the  close  of  a financial year. Owing to adverse impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic and consequential discontinuation/partial resumption of passenger services there has been a decline of ` 34,750.51 crore in passenger revenues over Indian Railways at the end of January, 2021 compared to corresponding period of the previous year. Out  of  this  decline,  East  Coast  Railway  which  includes  Jagdalpur  station  has witnessed a passenger revenue decline of ` 1082.40 crore to end of January, 2021 compared to the corresponding period of previous year.

*****