AC Chair Car, 3-tier drive Indian Railways profits

Indian Railways' AC Chair Car class posted a Rs 376.77 crore profit in FY25, rebounding from losses of Rs 203.96 crore in FY24 and Rs 297.62 crore in FY23. AC 3-tier recorded a Rs 3,645.44 crore profit in FY25, up from Rs 2,501.07 crore in FY24 and Rs 3,300.08 crore in FY23. These two categories were the only profitable passenger classes, as others, including Ordinary class (Rs 20,705.94 crore loss) and First Class (Rs 48.77 crore loss), remained in the red.

AC Chair Car services feature in premium trains like Vande Bharat and Shatabdi, where dynamic fare pricing has boosted revenue. Vande Bharat fares are set at a premium above Shatabdi rates. Sustained profitability has accelerated Vande Bharat deployments: the network carried 3.98 crore passengers in FY26, a 34% year-on-year rise from 2.97 crore in FY25. Since 2019, it has served over 9.1 crore passengers across 1 lakh trips. The New Delhi-Varanasi corridor remains the busiest, with 73 lakh passengers.

To strengthen long-distance connectivity, Indian Railways launched the Vande Bharat Sleeper service in January 2026. In its first three months, it carried 1.21 lakh passengers over 119 trips with an occupancy rate exceeding 100%, indicating strong demand for premium overnight rail travel.