SWR made great strides in revenue, passenger service

Hubballi: In 2022, South Western Railway (SWR) has registered the highest-ever total revenue of Rs 7,509 crore from January to December. Its passenger revenue stood at Rs 2,534 crore, the highest-ever.
In a press release, SWR general manager Sanjeev Kishore said their focus has been to provide modern and world-class facilities to common railway passengers. “Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal was developed at Bengaluru and was dedicated by the Prime Minister on June 20. Similarly, Yeshvantpur and Bengaluru Cantonment stations are also being redeveloped. The foundation stone was laid for these projects by the PM on June 20. These stations will emerge as ‘urban icons’ of Bengaluru and ‘City Centre’ abuzz with 24x7 commercial activities,” it added.
Dharwad station has been redeveloped with amenities like waiting rooms, retiring rooms, improved circulating area, new FoB, etc, while third entry at SSS Hubballi was commissioned keeping up with the growing needs of the city. This will decongest the main entry point and the remodelled Hubballi yard caters to the growth in transport for the next 2-3 decades. These projects were dedicated to the county by railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi on October 11. Belagavi and Hosapet stations have also undergone facelift with new facilities.
In 2022-23, the capital outlay stood at Rs 6,900 crore, the highest ever since the formation of the zone. “We have achieved the highest-ever electrification of 712 route km. We commissioned a 22km new line, 210km doubling. As of now, SWR is running 75 trains on electric traction, as compared to 63 trains in 2021. By commissioning 19 RoBs, and 35 RuBs, we have made travelling safer for both rail and road users,” the release added.
SWR has maintained punctuality at an impressive 94%, achieving third position among all railway zones in India. The average speed of goods trains in SWR is increased by 58%. At 808km, speed potential was increased to 110kmph.
During festivals and holidays, 161 additional trains were run, and 2,585 additional coaches were augmented. Four pairs of new trains were introduced, and 91 trains were speeded up in 2022.
SWR has recorded the highest-ever automobile transport of 404 rakes, which is an increase of 70% over last year. It has transported 45 million tonnes of cargo and operated 3,201 leased parcel vans, 151 trips of leased parcel cargo express trains.