Events & Issues

New Delhi, 13 January 2024

National Rail Plan

WIDER EXPANSION CRUCIAL

By Dr. Oishee Mukherjee 

Amid the decade when there is a cry the world over to lower emissions, it is but necessary that more attention to be given to railways. Its recent plans have evoked much interest. As there is a crisis in getting a confirmed ticket in the place and class of one’s choice, there is an imperative need for wider expansion of the railway network in India. 

It was heartening to hear that there has been a decision to run 3000 additional mail, express and passenger trains in the next four-five years to tackle the huge problem of wait-listed passengers who cannot undertake their journeys. Obviously, it is expected that the expansion would be in the routes where there is lot of congestion, mainly in the metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and various tourist centres. Currently, around 500 crore passenger trips are undertaken annually and this is likely to touch 1000 crore in the next five years.   

The second major development follows from the first, i.e. to increase the number of trains, there are plans to augment track capacity. In fact, recently Prime Minister Modi flagged off 6 Vande Bharat Express trains and 2 Amrit Bharat trains. The railways proposed a Rs 4.2 lakh crore mega plan for multi-tracking of seven high density corridors – Delhi-Howrah, Mumbai-Howrah, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Guwahati, Delhi-Chennai, Howrah-Chennai and Mumbai-Chennai – for introduction of faster passenger trains and quicker movement of freight. This is, necessary as the speed of trains is quite slow compared to global standards and very slow compared to the Western nations.  

The Railways Ministry from 2024-25 to 2033-34, plans to lay third and fourth line on different stretches of these corridors according to the traffic demand. The plan also includes construction of flyovers and underpasses, among plans to introduce more modern trains like Vande Bharat with sleeper facilities that have a maximum design speed of 220 kmph. In all 233 projects have been identified that need to be undertaken on these corridors, which have breached the saturation point and 200 such works will be completed in the first phase—in next three years. 

Union Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, outlined the transformative impact of seven multi-tracking projects valued at Rs 32,500 crore, which received Cabinet approval. These would propel the Railways into a new era of efficiency and capacity expansion, with combined length expected to add 2,339 km to the existing rail network. 

The envisioned outcomes are not limited to mere expansion but extend to relieving congestion and enhancing operational efficiency, across 35 districts, spanning States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Apart from the infrastructure enhancements, these projects are anticipated to augment freight capacity significantly, accommodating approximately 200 million tonnes of additional freight traffic annually. 

Though in tune with the National Rail Plan (NRP) for India, 2030, overall capacities are being augmented, both in passenger and freight traffic, there is need to think about affordability of all sections of the population. Indian railways has a huge network but the average speed is one of the slowest in the world. The need for faster trains can’t be doubted but fare structure must be such that it’s affordable, at least to the middle-income sections. The fare of Vande Bharat trains is higher than those of the Shatabdi and the dynamic fare system makes it still higher. 

Under the Rajdhani pricing system, the base fare jumps by 10% for every 10% seats booked, with a ceiling of 50% hike above the base fare. Unless the dynamic fare structure is changed, travel by faster train will remain high and beyond the capacity of a large section of people.  Thus, in planning more mail and express trains, there should be faster trains like Amrit Bharat Express trains that are affordable to the lower income sections and EWS facilitating their travel to their native villages. 

It can be admitted that a major milestone in the journey of the railways is the development of automatic electronic block signalling systems at railway stations. The automatic signalling system has been installed in 530 kms during 2022-23, as compared to 218 kms during 2021-22, registering an increase of over 143 per cent. This takes a lot of care in increasing line capacity and safety measures on tracks. 

The government in the past few years also focussed on doubling of tracks with the purpose to reduce or minimise train traffic. In budget 2023-24, Indian railways has allotted Rs 30,749 crore just for doubling of railway tracks. This has not only improved operational efficiency but also allowed for smooth movement of trains.  

In building the much-needed infrastructure, huge financial requirements are necessary for which resource generation needs to be found. In this regard, upgradation of stations and giving space to the private sector has been a major initiative. With over 400 redeveloped railway stations, these spaces are now mostly congestion-free with non-conflicting entry and exit points. As per figures available, Andhra Pradesh has 72 stations for transformation, Bihar 86 and Gujarat 87 railway stations for upgradation among other states. Another source of generating revenue is upgrading the retiring rooms, with deluxe facilities, and increasing their number so that both people on official work as also tourists can use these. 

Though there could be a rise in passenger and freight fares, which have already happened, there is a need to look into amenities, which are much below standards. The unclean toilets of mail/express trains, specially in the sleeper coaches, not to speak of the unreserved ones, has to be improved with proper maintenance to ensure adequate supply of water during the full course of the journey. 

A more disturbing development is the occurrence of frequent accidents, which even after a lot of progress in automatic signalling has not been curbed. Special efforts need to be given in ensuring that accidents do not happen, and the unmanned tracks cannot be allowed to continue. 

Finally, modernisation and expansion of railways in the country is imperative and has the potential to boost up economic growth and bring about social integration. The priority given to railways has been a right decision of the ruling dispensation and it is expected that the network, performance, speed, passenger facilities and safety measures would be taken care of in the coming years.  ---INFA 

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