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Editor’s Desk
Transformation time
The Indian Railways, in the last few years basking in the
light of the financial turnaround, cannot have enough as can
be seen from the Rs 25,000 crore profit that they have generated
in the current year. Rail Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has been
led to say that the surplus could well touch Rs 100,000 crore
by the time he completes his fifth year at the helm.
That, at the current level of performance, is eminently doable,
notwithstanding the cynics.
What is pertinent here is that the Railways, which not too
long ago lay outside the weltanschauung of development, have
enough money to invest in areas which are in line with their
medium to long-term objectives. This includes growth in freight,
passenger traffic through additions in rolling stock and signaling
systems. This also translates into much needed upgradation
across 64,000 kilometres of rail track, expansion of capacity
on high density network; more coaches, double and triple-decker
containers; higher axle load wagons; development of eastern
and western freight corridors; speedier, heavier, long haul
trains; containerisation terminals; private- public terminals,
and so on. Track conversions and line doubling and selective
electrification are also on the agenda. The plans include
four high-speed railway links, 100 budget hotels on unused
railway land, a system-wide cleanliness campaign and major
changes in fares and reservation systems.
All these developments present huge business opportunities
for PSUs and private sector players, not to mention the waiting
train of multinationals. The way to go is the PPP route.
What is very evident is that the Railways’ thus far
much maligned public avatar is undergoing a sea change. An
investment of Rs 5000 crore has been earmarked for manufacturing
new coaches in the Rajdhani trains by 2010-2011. The rail
budget has addressed quite a few passenger initiatives like
the introduction of stainless steel coaches, passenger information
system, green toilets in addition to reducing passenger fare,
etc which target for better amenities of public railway system
bringing in a unique experience of customer friendly travel.
The Railways have also correctly identified the capacity constraints
of rolling stock and they are planning to increase the rolling
stock production through new factories for manufacturing electric
/ diesel locomotives, coaches and wheel and axle factories.
This would support the need to increase volumes and continue
their progress towards a profitable growth. The Railways have
also planned to invest Rs 75,000 crore in the next 7 years
to further develop saturated transportation lines. Moreover
it is now working on speeding up work on two dedicated freight
corridors. The strengthening of local train services in Mumbai
and Kolkata has been correctly identified. There is a need
to look at a completely new generation of suburban trains
for Mumbai and to expand its network.
Assuredly, the recent budget has shown the Indian Railways’
keenness to expand in the short and medium term, build capacities,
commercially exploit available infrastructure and to take
on the roads. It is however, imperative that the minders do
not lose track of the vision. The projects need to be executed
at a fast pace so that the organisation is able to support
the overall economic growth of the country, and does not become
a bottleneck.
Indeed, the ambitious programme of growth charted by the
Railways presents inherent challenges. Ergo, the way forward
cannot be expected to be a cakewalk for the mandarins at Rail
Bhavan. For the moment though as Kalyan Coomar Jena, Chairman,
Railway Board, told INFRASTRUCTURE TODAY, “We should
be proud of the Indian Railways.”
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