The Indian Railway network has been on a modernisation journey, with superfast trains playing a key role in it. These high-speed trains, such as the Vande Bharat Express and Gatimaan Express, are significantly reducing travel times and enhancing passenger comfort and safety.
However, this gift of speed comes with a fee which could swing some out of booking these trains.
Soon, India will introduce bullet trains, which, unsurprisingly, will come with an additional charge. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze whether the general public will be willing to pay the price for increased speed.
In an attempt to gauge the public’s willingness to shell out some extra cash for these superfast trains, RailYatri conducted a survey across India.
The survey asked the people at what average train speed they would be comfortable paying an extra amount. It provided the respondents with four train speed ranges. A total of 15,000 train travellers participated in the survey.
How comfortable are people paying extra for superfast trains?
The results of the survey showed that nearly 59% of the respondents were willing to pay the charges for superfast trains. Meanwhile, nearly 73% of them showed unwillingness to pay for speeds below 55 kilometres/hour. In case of speeds falling in between 50-75 kilometres/hour, only 23% of the travellers were ready to pay more.
Nearly 41% stated they would be willing to pay if the train operated at speeds between 75-100 kilometers per hour. However, the most interesting response came from the 42% of passengers who said they were unwilling to pay extra even if the train’s speed exceeded 100 kilometers per hour.