Events
& Issues
New Delhi, 7 November
2018
Modernising Railway
TIME, COMFORT FOR ALL VITAL
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
In one of its recent
decisions, the Railways will soon bring an engineless high speed train
(Train-18) from Howrah to New Delhi. The train, the first of its kind, has been
manufactured by Integrated Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai and capable of running
at 160 km per hour. The 1440 km journey between the two stations would be
approximately 12 hours and reduce the present journey period of Rajdhani
Express by around five hours. Before it actually starts operation, the Research
Designs & Standards Organization (RDSO) will monitor the tests.
At the same time, it
has also been reported recently that the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW)
has launched the first locomotive in the country’s history, capable of hauling
trains at a speed of 200 km per hour. In fact such electric locomotive had been
manufacturing 5100HP WAP-5 locomotives for passenger trains for long. The WAP-5
has redesigned and it is now aerodynamic to reduce air drag at higher speeds,
thereby making them more energy efficient. The gear arrangement has also been
modified to maintain a maximum speed of 200 km/hour.
Locomotive-hauled
trains like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi run on an average speed of 90 kmph due to
several speed restrictions. With the introduction of these locomotives, the
reduction in journey time would be possible if the permissible limit is
proposed to be raised to 160 kmph or even more. The introduction of new trains
is expected to cut down the travel time by at least 20 per cent in comparison
to any train drawn by a loco due to faster acceleration and deceleration.
This has indeed been
a landmark achievement of Railways as Indian trains are normally very slow.
Thus in special routes, such trains have to be fast enough and manufactured
with indigenous technology. Rajesh Agarwal, member (rolling stock), also
announced the next series of train called Train-20 and will be capable of
achieving 200 km per hour. At such a juncture, there is need for connecting all
the metro cities with either the Train-18 or Train-20 within the shortest
possible time, say within two years or so.
There was, in fact,
no justification in spending valuable foreign exchange for survey and then
importing bullet train which will run between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. It is not
known what justification was advanced for such trains when congested routes
like Howrah-Delhi, Mumbai-Howrah, Bangalore-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai need faster
trains. But instead of focussing on this aspect, there was lot of talk of
bullet train.
Obviously, political
pressure from foreign countries must have pressurised the government to go for
importing bullet trains. If one is a frequent traveller by train, it would be
easily discernible that the poor and the lower income groups comprise around 65
to 70 per cent of the passengers. In such a situation, the resources have to be
judiciously used to improve functioning of trains and improving the safety
network on a priority. The Railways unfortunately has not been able to contain
the accidents and improve on its poor record. Added to this, adequate flyovers
would have to be built to tackle recent incidents of stampede and resultant
deaths.
With most airlines
offering low cost fares and good connectivity, a large number of the people
have started using this mode of transportation in recent years, and therefore the
justification of a bullet train, more so with fares being inordinately high,
stands no logic. Moreover, the selection of Ahmedabad city for starters appears
to have been influenced by the Prime Minister to give Gujarat another feather
in its cap.
Apart from the speed,
these new trains would have an aerodynamic nose for reduced drag and improved
aesthetics. These will also have continuous window glasses, 'automatic
plug-type' sliding doors and sliding footsteps which will open and close
automatically at the stations and zero discharge vacuum-based bio-toilets.
However, the technical
upgradation of Railways is an imperative necessity and so also improvement of
the stations, which should be the Railway Board’s priority too. It must take
into account that it is of utmost importance to reduce the travel time,
specially between capital cities, and at the same time provide minimum comfort
to passengers who travel in sleeper classes and also those unreserved. Though
finances are a problem, the entire policy of the railways needs to be geared towards
providing comfort and safety to the aam
janata.
Finances may have to
be geared up by public-private participation in modernising railway stations,
bringing an end to ticketless travel as also fining those who enter stations
without platform tickets etc. If sincere efforts are initiated by railway
authorities, it could improve its financial situation and offer the much-needed
facilities to all. This apart, there is need to check on corruption within the
sector and vigilance officers must ensure that there is no more laxity.
Simultaneously, the
government’s plan of public-private participation in modernising railway
stations and commercial use of railways – some of which may be occupied – would
also help in gearing up finances of the railways. But it appears that very
little has been done in this direction as the railways have not yet come up
with any innovative plan.
It cannot be doubted
that the Railways has to be a thoroughly professional organisation unlike most
government organisations, given the mammoth operations it carries out. This professionalism
and a work culture have been missing and attitudes need to change. Whether in
enforcing rules or in matters of technical upgradation or in completion of
projects in time, this approach may go a long way in raising revenues and help
in curbing the deficit in passenger tariff. In fact, accountability has to be
fixed for those at the top and middle officers than in the lower cadres.
Undeniably, it’s
indeed distressing to note that all policy decisions and refurbishment by
subsequent governments have been largely geared for the well-off sections. The interest
of the aam janata must be given
topmost priority and the officers will do well if they take a ride in the
sleeper class and get a feel of what they are offering. It may also be prudent
to say that the functioning and finances of the railways in other Third world
countries would be better though the number of passengers travelling in our
country is far more.
Primarily, the
comfort of all sections has to improve for which the Railways should frame an
action plan. Obviously, a major segment of the resources have to be geared in
that direction so that people travelling in non-AC coaches can have a
relatively comfortable journey. This is
not to say that technological improvements should be made to wait but both must
go hand-in-hand. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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