ECONOMICS OF KASHMIR RAILWAY
Operational Expenses per annum = Rs. 80 Crore
Revenue collection per day = Rs. 3 lacs = Rs.0.03 Crore
Revenue collection per year =Rs. 0.03 x 365 = Rs. 11 Crore
Operational...
more... losses per year = Rs. (80-11) = Rs. 69 Crore
Cost of 137 km rail link including 11 km tunnel should be about Rs. 3000 crore
Annual interest burden on the the invested capital @ 10% p.a. = Rs. 300 crores
So the actual financial loss for providing passenger rail services in just 127 km route should be about 369 crores!
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KASHMIR RAILWAY is a very difficult rail project passing through one of the most difficult terrains ever crossed by railways in world, hence is very costly to construct.
Estimated cost of about 340km long Jammu-Srinagar-Baramulla project have increased from Rs 2500 crore in past to Rs 20000 crore in 2014.
Its actual completion cost (probable commissioning by 2022-27) is likely to be a monumental figure which may be in the range of Rs. 30000-50000 crores! This works out to be about 10 times costlier than the normal new rail line construction cost or just Rs 10 crores per km.
After commissioning, operation & maintenance too shall be a very costly affair due to extreme geological conditions, weather, extremely high length of bridges/ tunnels in the route.
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