70% dip in AC travel among railway passengers in 2020-21 due to Covid: Govt

The number of passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches reduced by more than 70 per cent in 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the parliament on Friday.

In reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, he said during the year 2019-20, there was an increase of around 4 per cent in passengers who travelled by air-conditioned (AC) coaches and a 70 per cent drop was observed in 2020-21 among such passengers, as compared to the previous year. ‘

“During the year 2019-20 and 2020-21, the number of passengers who travelled in Air Conditioned (AC) coaches were 181 million and 49 million respectively, which is (+3.92%) more and (-73.23%) less from their respective previous years.