Union Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee's plan to start 12 new point-to-point trains is not expected to be a threat to Low Cost Carriers (LCCs), state industry experts. While the new trains are expected to reduce the duration of travel via the rail network with lesser fares as compared to the LCCs, the aviation industry is against the view that this will lead to diversion of traffic. Expressing his opinion on the same, Koustav M Dhar, COO and Executive Director, MDLR Airlines Ltd. said, “The client segment, which has upgraded from the trains to the airlines will have no major shift. People want to go by the faster mode now and are used to the same.”
The aviation industry also feels that while the Railway Ministry has spoken about the introduction of the new trains, it has not mentioned a timeline for the same. “By the time the government implements this plan and the trains become functional, the aviation sector will have a turnaround and gain upward momentum. The momentum in the economy will ensure further up-gradation of the passengers from the railways to the airlines. Besides the amount of capacity will be a major challenge the railways will face with the new plan,” |