budget 2017, fm arun jaitley, suresh prabhu indian railways, fares, tickets, modi
Reuters file

The Indian Railways, which does not exactly hold the reputation for being a profit-making entity has managed to swell its coffers by Rs 35,000 crore, which is more than the annual budget of three northeastern states put together.

The Railways managed to make Rs 35,073 crore in 10 years by selling off scrap, including coaches, wagons and rail tracks.

A data collected by social activist and senior journalist Jitendra Surana, seeking Right To Information, showed that the amount was even greater than the budget of Sikkim (around 7,000 crore), Mizoram (9,000 crore) and Manipur (13,000 crore) together for the fiscal year 2018-19.

Surana, who hails from Malwa-Nimar region in Madhya Pradesh, has revealed the Railway's figure.

The Indian Railways said it earned a maximum profit of Rs 4,409 crore by selling scrap in 2011-12. The lowest income of Rs 2,718 crore was in 2016-17.

Among scrap, rail tracks were sold the most, and the overall income from selling the tracks in 10 years stood at Rs 11,938 crore.