Recently the announcement about Habib Gunj being the first private railway station in India ignited fierce debate on social media, with huge protest from the public. As the railways is staring at highest operating cost in last five years, is privatization the only way forward to modernise the worlds’s fourth largest railway network. Answer needs evaluation of current Railways network.
The Indian Railways operates over 12,000 trains daily and managing a network running for 115,000 kilometres. The 163-year-old Indian Railways network which transports as many as 23 million people everyday needs massive infrastructure and technical upgradation to meet the mobility need of the future.
Urbanisation has put huge pressure on the Indian Railways infrastructure which is marred by aging tracks, lack of modern technology, old fashioned coaches , stinking toilets and lack of quality food. India is still far away from a high-speed rail system, with an average speed of 54 km per hour. It is intriguing that no innovation was pursued to enhance the speed of our trains. So far the Gatiman express is the fastest with 160 kmph. Even the Shatabdi Express, which started almost 30 years back, can only clock 150 kmph and that also its operational speed hardly exceeds 100 km per hour.
According to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Indian Railways require above $140 billion in the next five years for modernizing rail networks, increasing capacity and laying new lines.
“Of the $140 billion, we will be investing over the next five years, the majority will go towards India’s modernization efforts, the introduction of new technologies, and increasing capacities,” said Prabhu.
According to the Ministry of Railways, lack of funding is forcing Railways to privatise the railways and it is starting with re- development of Railways stations, which can enhance the infrastructure of railways without spending from the government. The Indian Railways has decided to redevelop and modernise 23 stations across the country in the first phase by enrolling private companies for the job.
The stations that will be redeveloped are -- Kanpur Central, Allahabad, Lokmanya Tilak, Pune, Thane, Visakhapatnam, Horah, Kamakhya, Faridabad, Jammu Tawi, Udaipur, Secunderabad, Vijaywada, Ranchi, Chennai Central, Kozhikide, Yesvantpur, Bangalore Cantt, Bhopal, Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Borivali and Indore. The impact is yet to be seen.
Investing In Safety
Asia’s oldest rail tracks have seen 11 railway accidents, eight of them because of derailment, in the last year. This calls for Railways to invest majorly in safety features. The railways is already planning to float international tender for advanced train wheel sensors at an estimated cost of Rs 113 crore. The sensor will monitor maintenance needs of coaches, tracks and locos in advance for ensuring safer travels. It can timely detect defects related to passenger coaches, wagons, locomotives and tracks and can thus prevent many railways accidents. The Railways has also partnered with Google, which will not only make free Wi-Fi available at major railway station but can also help in giving real time feed about the train status.
Shift To Clean Energy
The Ministry has drawn up an action plan to save energy worth Rs 41,000 crore over the next ten years. “I have prepared an action plan and it has been presented to the public also, that Rs 41,000 crore can be saved on energy during the next 10 years,” Prabhu said at an event. This can go a long way to save energy as well as money for the Railways.
Alternative Revenue Model
Railways is looking at innovative ways to raise funds and one is auctioning the sale of branding and advertising rights. Indian Railways will start mega auctions for the branding and advertising rights of over 1,000 of its trains from next week to monetise its existing assets.
This will include Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, Garib Rath, superfast, express, suburban and even freight trains. Rights for ad space inside trains will be auctioned separately. The railways will also start auctions for another ad vehicle — Radio Rail. The railways is eyeing revenue of Rs 1,000 crore annually through long-term contracts.
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