Lok Sabha Question No. 2710 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-11
Subject: Overcrowding on Long-distance Train Routes
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Karti P Chidambaram, Shri Parshottambhai Rupala

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2710 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2024

OVERCROWDING ON LONG-DISTANCE TRAIN ROUTES.

2710.   SHRI KARTI P CHIDAMBARAM: SHRI PARSHOTTAMBHAI RUPALA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  handle  workload, evaluate  staffing  levels  and  improve  operational  processes  at each railway station of the country;
- (b) whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  alarming  and  persistent overcrowding on long-distance train routes is resulting in widespread passenger complaints about discomfort, safety concerns and poor travel conditions;
- (c) the  specific  measures  taken/to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to address overcrowding  on  high-demand  routes, including the introduction  of  additional  trains,  increasing  service  frequencies or augmenting existing services to enhance safety and passenger comfort; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to prioritize the expansion and improvement of regular, high-frequency train services to overcome the challenges rather than focusing disproportionately on luxury/premium projects?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d): In its constant endeavour to provide additional accommodation  to  travelling  passengers,  Indian  Railways  (IR),  in

addition to the various types of regular trains, also operates Special train  services  during  festivals,  holidays,  etc.  to  cater  to  the  extra needs of passengers.

Accordingly,  during  the  year  2024,  13523  trips  special  trains  were operated to meet the extra rush of passengers during Holi and summer vacation.

To cater to the rush during Durga Pooja/ Dipawali /Chhath,  7990 trips of  Special  trains  have  also  been  operated   during  the  period  1st October,  2024  to  30th  November,  2024,  to   serve  approximately  1.8 crore passengers.

IR  also  augments  the  load  of  trains,  both  on  a  permanent  and temporary basis, to generate additional accommodation  for  different segments of passengers.

During the year 2023-24, 872 coaches have been utilized for augmentation of train services on a permanent basis while during the year 2024-25(till November, 2024), 774 have been utilized for permanent augmentation.

Further, to provide greater accommodation for the passengers using General  and  non-AC  Sleeper  Coaches,  the  extant  policy  regarding composition of Mail/Express trains, provide for 12 (Twelve) General   class  &  Sleeper  class  non-  AC  coaches  and  08  (eight)  ACCoaches, in a train of 22 coaches, thereby providing greater accommodation for the passengers  using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches.  Besides,  of  the  total  number  of  Coaches  being  presently utilized  for  running  of  train  services,  two-third  are  non-AC,  and  onethird are AC variants. Additionally, Indian Railways have introduced Amrit Bharat services, which have modern State-of the Art technology are equipped with advanced  features  like  Semi-Permanent  couplers  for  jerk  free travel, horizontal  sliding  windows,  foldable  snack  table  and  bottle holders,  mobile  holders etc.  These  services,  which  are  fully  non-AC trains, presently comprising 12 Sleeper Class Coaches and 8 General Class coaches, are providing high quality services to the passengers. Moreover, Introduction of new trains, increase in frequency of trains and  extension  of  trains  is  an  on-going  process  over  IR  subject  to operational feasibility, traffic justification and availability of resources. Adequate manpower is provided at the railway stations based on the classification  of  the  stations,  duty  hours  of  the  employees  based  on Hours  of  Employment  Regulations  (HOER)  and  manpower  yardsticks prescribed for different activities. Continuous  review  of  manpower  requirement  is  done  in  view  of introduction of new technologies, changing working systems, creation of new assets etc. Occurrence  and  filling  up  of  vacancies  are  continuous  processes  on Indian Railways considering its size, spatial distribution and criticality of  operation.  The  vacancies  are  filled  up  primarily  by  placement  of indents by Railways with Recruitment agencies as per operational and

technological requirements.

After  easing  of  restrictions  imposed  on  account  of  COVID  19,  two major  examinations  involving  more  than  2.37  crore  candidates  have been conducted successfully.

| Exam    | Candidates   |   Cities |   Centres |   Days |   Shifts |
|---------|--------------|----------|-----------|--------|----------|
| L2 - L6 | 1.26 cr      |      211 |       726 |     68 |      133 |
| L-1     | 1.1 cr       |      191 |       551 |     33 |       99 |

Based on these exams, 1,30,581 candidates have been recruited in railways.

Recruitment done in Indian Railways during 2004-2014 vis-à-vis during 2014 - 2024 is given as under.

| Period   | Recruitments   |
|----------|----------------|
| 2004-14  | 4.11 lakh      |
| 2014-24  | 5.02 lakh      |

Majority of these recruitments are in operation and safety categories.

Further, as system improvement, the Ministry of Railways has introduced  a  system  of  publishing  annual  calendar  from  2024  for recruitment to various categories of Group 'C' posts. The introduction of annual calendar will benefit the aspirants in the following manner:

-  More opportunities for candidates;
-  Opportunities to those becoming eligible every year;
-  Certainty of exams;
-  Faster Recruitment process, Training and Appointments

Accordingly, Eight Centralized Notifications (CENs) for 58,642 vacancies have been notified during January to October 2024 for filling up  of  posts  of  Assistant  Loco  Pilots,  Technicians,  Sub-Inspectors  & Constables in Railway Protection Force (RPF), Junior Engineers/Depot Material Superintendents/Chemical & Metallurgical Assistants, Paramedical Categories, Non-Technical Popular Categories (Graduates) & Non-Technical Popular Categories (Under-Graduates).

The Computer Based Test has commenced from 25.11.2024 onwards. *****