Kochi: Southern Railway has emerged as the top-performing zone in the country in terms of passenger revenue, recording a significant year-on-year increase. It also leads in carrying the highest number of passengers, including those travelling on Vande Bharat services.

Across Indian Railways, passenger revenue increased by around five to seven per cent in the financial year 2025–26. Southern Railway outperformed this trend, reporting earnings of ₹8,271.47 crore. In the previous financial year, the figure stood at ₹7,535.69 crore, reflecting a 9.8 per cent rise and an additional ₹735.78 crore in revenue.

Overall, Indian Railways generated an additional ₹4,631 crore in passenger revenue during the current financial year, rising from ₹74,887.05 crore in 2024–25 to ₹79,518.17 crore in 2025–26. Southern Railway’s revenue growth exceeded that of the second-ranked Western Railway by around ₹70 crore.

Why the sudden surge?

Senior Southern Railway officials told that the increase is largely attributed to improvements in the Passenger Reservation System (PRS).

Previously, online current booking for Vande Bharat trains was not available once the reservation chart was prepared. Under the revised system, passengers can now book tickets online up to 15 minutes before departure, even after chart preparation. This has improved seat utilisation, with each seat accommodating at least two passengers during a journey from origin to destination, as bookings are enabled for subsequent passengers once earlier ones disembark.

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As a result, passenger numbers on Vande Bharat services increased from 2.14 lakh in the previous financial year to 6.01 lakh this year, while revenue rose from ₹15.22 crore to ₹45.37 crore.

Changes were also made to the remote location waiting list system. Earlier, passengers could not book trains bound for Kerala beyond Coimbatore. This restriction has now been removed, with Ernakulam Junction included under the remote location reservation system.

Southern Railway also ranked first in Tatkal bookings, accounting for over 75 per cent of such bookings across 92 per cent of its trains. This segment generated ₹267.05 crore in revenue during 2025–26. An additional ₹594.36 crore was earned through Premium Tatkal services.