Vaccination fuels train travel, bookings increase for Kumbh, Holi, Eid festivals

Train bookings in March and April have shot up by 90 percent over previous months, as the COVID-19 vaccination drive has helped customers gain some confidence to travel.

The jump in booking coincides with the upcoming festivals such as Holi and Eid al-Fitr. Customers are also planning for the summer vacations as the academic year comes to a close.

However, the recent spike in COVID-19 cases could become a dampener, increasing the risk of travelling and also the possibility of states re-imposing restrictions on entry and exit. India has recorded over a lakh fresh cases in three days, with Maharashtra and Kerala leading the charts. A spike has also been reported in Delhi, which is one of the busiest rail routes.

What the numbers say

Online travel agency ixigo said it has seen a 90 percent jump in train traffic. Currently, around 1.5 million people are travelling every day with reserved bookings, it said in response to a query from Moneycontrol.

A senior executive at another online agency said routes from Delhi to eastern states are the busiest. "There is a pent-up demand."

The increase is particularly visible in the special trains that have a large number of 2S (second seating) coaches that have the lowest fare in the reserved category. The OTA said its train app has a "3x growth in bookings for 2S reserved class in Feb 2021 as compared to pre-pandemic travel in Feb 2020 due to unreserved trains not being operational."

Indian Railways is currently operating at about 65 percent capacity. In recent weeks, it has introduced special trains to cater to the increasing demand for upcoming festivals. From March 31, Northern Railway will operate 18 additional trains.

"With the vaccine roll out there has been a major surge in demand for travel especially within the senior citizen community who have been immunised. Religious travel is also returning with a bang. We have seen a 19 percent increase in train bookings and searches for cities like Haridwar for upcoming Kumbh celebrations," said Aloke Bajpai, CEO & Co-founder, ixigo. 

As of March 21, the country has administered 4.5 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and efforts are on to scale up the drive.

The Kumbh Mela sees nearly 30 lakh pilgrims taking a dip in the Ganges during the auspicious days.

"There has been a substantial increase in travel searches for Kumbh this year from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Upcoming holidays like Holi are also driving up the travel demand as people are opting to travel to their hometowns and celebrate the festival with their families. New-Delhi-Patna has seen a 63 percent year-on-year growth in train bookings ahead of Holi celebrations," Bajpai added.

The increase in train bookings mirrors the trend seen in air travel too. For many of the online travel agencies, leisure travel is already at 70 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels.

Also read:'Vaxication' gives  travel industry a shot of optimism. Airfares rise by up to 35% on some routes