Railofy, a data science startup that provides a travel guarantee to waitlisted or RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) train passengers, has raised ₹7 crore in seed funding from Chiratae Ventures.
Founded by three friends – Rohan Dedhia, Vaibhav Saraf, and Hrishabh Sanghvi in 2019, the startup claims to solve the waitlist problem in India that affects 300 million plus passengers travelling by the railways annually.
Railofy offers flight tickets to railway passengers if their train ticket is not confirmed after chart preparation, at a similar price. For shorter distances, the startup provides buses at nominal prices if the train ticket is not confirmed. The protection is currently available on 153 train routes, co-founder Rohan Dedhia said.
The startup will use the funds to expand pan India using a technology-led business model.
“As India becomes more aspirational, passengers will demand a more reliable experience while travelling by the railways. Railofy is working towards this by solving one of the biggest problems affecting railways – Waitlist due to Congestion,” said TC Meenakshisundaram, Founder & Managing Director of Chiratae Ventures India Advisors.
Dedhia says that initial trials started in January on selected trains and the company saw a strong consumer interest with more than 600,000 visits on its website in just 1.5 months.
Passengers can purchase the protection from Railofy’s portal against their ticket for an average price of around ₹200 (starting at ₹50). If the ticket is not confirmed post chart preparation, Railofy provides a flight close to the price of a train ticket or bus for nominal prices to the destination. The price for flight/bus options is fixed at the time of purchasing WL & RAC protection itself, thus ensuring that passengers are shielded from last-minute rising fares.
