#2 From Rail to Runway – Tracking India’s Aviation Ascent.

Exhibit 1: A growing number of migrant workers from my home state, Kerala, are choosing to fly home to their towns in northern and eastern India rather than take the train (e.g. TRV-DEL).

While the nominal cost of flying is slightly higher, the effective cost after factoring in time saved is cheaper than the train (excluding peaks).

Indian Railways cannot play catch-up without an HSR offering (which is a distant dream), and aviation will continue to capture medium/ long-haul intercity demand by price, time, and logic.

(This write-up is for educational/informational purposes only; happy to amend inaccuracies, if any.) All views welcome!

Follow for a deep dive into India’s inevitable aviation boom, through the lens of China’s aviation growth, exploring the comparative dynamics and key divergences.