When bullet train is to travel at a speed of 250 km; 42% of travelers in India say only one thing

MUMBAI: Rail transport in the country has been witnessing a drastic change in the last few years. The railways are trying to provide a new experience to the passengers by combining luxury facilities along with speed. Vande Bharat Express and Gatimaan Express are examples of this. With the introduction of train services equipped with new technology, the travelling time started to reduce significantly. Moreover, Vande Bharat Express, which started service in states including Kerala, has given huge revenue to the railways as passengers have taken it up.

Also, there were reports that bullet trains will start service in the country soon. The bullet train will operate service for the first time on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. Work for this is going on. The plan is to buy 24 bullet trains operating on Japanese technology. The 508 km route is expected to be operational by mid-2026.

However, the question is how will the common commuters react when high-speed train services like bullet are launched in India? It remains to be seen whether passengers will be willing to pay for the increased speed. Financial Express has now released a survey report in this regard. The survey mainly asked whether passengers would be willing to pay according to the speed of trains.

15,000 people who regularly travel by trains participated in the survey conducted by Rail Yatri. The survey mainly asked how fast trains on average are willing to pay extra. The survey pointed four types of train services. A different response was received from the passengers.

59 percent of passengers who participated in the survey responded that they are willing to pay extra for superfast trains. Meantime, 73 % are not willing to pay extra for trains running at a speed of less than 55 kmph. According to the survey, 23 percent passengers are ready to pay extra for trains that reach a speed of 50 to 75 kmph. 41 percent of those who attended the survey said that they would pay extra for trains traveling at a speed of 75 to 100 kmph.

However, 42 percent passengers said they are not willing to pay extra even if the train speed exceeds 100 kmph. This was the most interesting reply in the survey. Meantime, the bullet train, which is expected to start service by 2026, can travel at a speed of 250 kmph. The train taking 12 hours now will take only three and a half hours. As this speed is achieved, so will be the rate. It should be seen how much the common travelers take up this. Presently, in the Vande Bharat trains operating in India, the presence of common passengers is very less.