Marketing mix of Indian railway

1. BY ANAGHA A KUMAR

2. INTRODUCTION
 Indian Railways as the name suggests deals in railways
and is associated with logistics and transportation
industry.
 It is of Indian origin and is operated and owned by
Government of India via Ministry of Railways.
 Indian Railways was founded in the year 1853 and its
first railway track was built by Great Indian Peninsula
Railway.
 It is ranked at seventh position in world as largest
commercial entity in terms of employee count.

3. Some of its competitors are as
follows-
 Ships
 Airlines
 Public transport like bus, trucks and taxi

4.  At the end of the financial year, 2015-16 Indian
Railways had the distinction of carrying twenty-two
million passengers on a daily basis and freight of 1.107
billion tonnes annually with help of 12,617 passenger
and 7,421 freight trains per day.
 Indian Railways offer different types of travel both
including and excluding air-condition facilities.
 Pantry cars are included in long-distance travels.
 Lavatories are common and include both Western and
Indian style.
PRODUCT IN THE MARKETING MIX
OF INDIAN RAILWAYS

5.  First Class AC has an attendant to help passengers in air-
conditioned coaches. The sleeping accommodation has
privacy features and its berth is extremely wide and
comfortable. Bedding is included along with catering.
 AC Two-Tier also has air-conditioned coach with curtains
along corridor for privacy and bedding and catering are
included with fares
 3 AC is air-conditioned with 64 sleeping berths in every
coach. Bedding and catering are free but the seats are
arranged with three tiers across each other in width and
two longways.
 AC Chair Car is a seater coach and is fully air-conditioned
with ample legroom and spacious seats.
 Sleeper Class is the most common coach in most trains
used by general public

6. Place in the Marketing Mix Of
Indian Railways
 Indian Railways has the distinction of being the largest
network of the railway in the world. It includes an extensive
track of 115,000 km that spreads over 67,312 km route and
includes 7,112 stations.
 First railway track in India was built from Mumbai city to
Thane in the year 1853.
 Currently, it operates suburban and long-distance rail
systems supported by a multi-gauge network of narrow,
metre and broad gauges.
 Its operations have spread over three union territories and
twenty-six states across India.
 Besides domestic Indian Railways has international
connectivity with its neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh.

7. Price in the Marketing Mix Of
Indian Railways :
 At the end of the fiscal year 2015-16, estimated revenues of
Indian Railways was 1.709 trillion rupees and its net income
105.02 billion rupees.
 Fares for every train and its class is different and depends on
several factors like its distance, with or without air-condition
facilities, catering included or not and type of class chosen.
 Indian Railways caters to masses and hence has adopted
marginal-cost pricing policy.
 Compared to other modes of transport it has kept its general
prices reasonable and affordable so that common people can
easily avail himself of its services.
 Railways have implemented economic pricing policy for three
tier on as coaches and for first and second class passengers its
prices are mid-premium and dependent upon additional
benefits attached to it.

8. Promotions in the Marketing Mix
Of Indian Railways :
 Promotion is an integral part of any organisation and
Indian Railways also uses several mediums for
advertisement. It has launched its own website that offers
related information to interested parties.
 It is upgraded with the latest news at regular intervals.
 It has a descriptive and apt tagline Lifeline of the Nation as
innumerable passengers commute daily in its trains.
 Indian Railways have earned several accolades in
recognition of its works like Indian e-Retail Awards 2015.
 It has launched a loyalty program, Shubh Yatra to reward
its frequent traveller by offering several incentives.

9. CONCLUSION
 The Indian Railway network is growing at a healthy rate.
 In the next five years, the Indian railway market will be the third
largest, accounting for 10 per cent of the global market.
 Indian Railways, which is one of the country's biggest
employers, can generate one million jobs, according to Mr
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Railways and Coal.
 In order to develop three new arms of Dedicated Freight
Corridor (DFC) in the various regions of the country, Indian
government is planning to invest Rs 3,30,000 crores ($50.98
billion).
 Also, Indian Railways is planning to invest in order to adopt
European Train Control Systems (ETCS) which will help in the
development of the infrastructural facilities.