Indian Railway Year Book · Ministry of Railways · Government of India · 2004–05 to 2025–26

Originating Passenger Traffic on Indian Railways

Annual count of passengers originating on Indian Government Railways from 2004–05 through 2025–26. Passenger numbers grew from 537.8 crore in 2004–05 to a peak of 843.8 crore in 2018–19, collapsed to 125 crore during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020–21, and have recovered to 741 crore by 2025–26 — still below pre-pandemic peaks.

🚆 2025–26: 741 crore (provisional) 📈 Peak pre-COVID: 843.8 crore in 2018–19 ⚡ COVID nadir: 125 crore in 2020–21 ⚠ Still 12% below 2018–19 peak
Source: Indian Railway Year Book — Ministry of Railways, Government of India Planning Commission PPP Paper · MOSPI Statistical Year Book · Economic Survey 2021-22 · IR Year Books 2016-17, 2022-23, 2023-24 2025–26 figure is provisional as reported by IBEF citing Ministry of Railways
All-India Snapshot

2025–26 (Provisional)

741 Cr

Latest available

2024–25

716 Cr

↑ +3.7% YoY

All-time Peak

843.8 Cr

2018–19

COVID Nadir

125 Cr

2020–21 lockdown

2004–05 Baseline

537.8 Cr

Period start

Gap to Peak

−12%

vs 2018–19 peak
Data Sources & Notes: All figures are from the Indian Railway Year Book (Ministry of Railways, Government of India). 2004–05 to 2007–08: Planning Commission PPP Position Paper on Railways (2009), citing MoR Year Books. 2008–09 to 2012–13: MoR Year Books as cited in MOSPI Statistical Year Book India and academic sources. 2013–14: MOSPI SYB 2014 (ch19.pdf). 2014–15: Factly.in citing Railway Year Book. 2015–16 & 2016–17: IR Facts & Figures 2016-17 (MoR). 2017–18 & 2018–19: Economic Survey 2021-22 Appendix Table 1.26, citing MoR. 2019–20 to 2023–24: Economic Survey 2021-22 & IR Year Books 2022-23 & 2023-24. 2024–25 & 2025–26: IBEF citing Ministry of Railways (provisional). Unit: Crore originating passengers (each boarding counted separately; inclusive of suburban and non-suburban). 1 crore = 10 million.
Annual Trend · 2004–05 to 2025–26

Passengers Originating — All India (Crore)

Annual data · Source: Ministry of Railways Year Books · 2025–26 is provisional

Passengers originating (crore) COVID disruption 2025–26 provisional

Growth Era (2004–2012)

Passengers grew steadily from 537.8 crore in 2004–05 to 842.1 crore in 2012–13 — an increase of 57% in eight years — driven by economic growth, expansion of train services, and rising demand.

Plateau & Mild Decline (2012–2017)

After peaking at 842.1 crore in 2012–13, traffic plateaued and slightly declined through 2016–17 (811.6 crore). Rail policy experts attributed this to competition from low-cost airlines, road transport, and fare sensitivity.

Pre-COVID Peak (2018–19)

Indian Railways reached its all-time record of 843.8 crore passengers in 2018–19. The following year (2019–20) saw a modest decline to 808.6 crore before COVID halted services entirely.

COVID Crash & Recovery

The 2020–21 lockdown reduced passengers to just 125 crore — an 85% drop. Recovery was rapid: 351.9 crore in 2021–22, 639.6 crore in 2022–23, 690.5 crore in 2023–24, and 716 crore in 2024–25 — though still 12% below the 2018–19 peak.

Period Analysis · Growth, Plateau, Disruption & Recovery

Indexed Growth (2004–05 = 100)

Relative change from 2004–05 baseline each year · Source: Ministry of Railways Year Books

Full Year-wise Data Table

Originating Passengers — All India, 2004–05 to 2025–26

Source: Ministry of Railways Year Books. * = 2025–26 is provisional (IBEF citing MoR).

Financial Year Passengers (Crore) Passengers (Billion) YoY Change (Cr) YoY % Change Era