Indian Railways : A Profile since Independence

V.K. Agarwal *

    These figures, however, mask the true significance of IR’s role in the Indian economy which is crucially dependent on it for transport requirements of the core sectors, long-distance travel of the people from one far corner of the country to another and suburban travel. IR also accounts for 8.5 per cent of the organised employment of the country either directly or indirectly.

    In line with the massive growth of population and the pressure generated by economic growth, Indian Railways has had to deal with mountry demands in the face of declining resources to build adequate capacity. It has acquitted itself creditably. Transport output of both passenger and freight traffic in terms of net tonne/passenger kilometre has increased six-fold since Independence with only marginal addition to route kilometre and rolling stock. The Indian Railways has also been continuously upgrading its systems to work out appropriate technological and managerial solutions for the problems peculiar to our country. In the midst of these challenges the Indian Railways has managed to earn an operating surplus year after year – a rare feat considering that most of the railway systems elesewhere – both in the developed and developing country – have failed to keep themselves above water.

    If one has to list our all the achievements of the Indian Railways in terms of growth of physical output or improvements in efficiency indices, which are impressive by any reckoning, or its response to natural calamities as a national carrier and its role as an agent of socio-economic development, it will run into several pages. However some of the achievements stand out for their sheet impact in strengthening the nation and improving the lives of the citizens.

Links

    The partition that followed Independence had traumatic consequences for the railway systems of the North-East. The pre-partition railways had linked the North-East and the present-day Bangladesh as an organic whole. Partition resulted in complete severance of this logical link. The truncated network of the North-East stood woefully incomplete and unconnected. The Indian Railways addressed this problem immediately and in right earnest. The Assam Rail Link project was completed in 1950 providing a meter gauge (MG) rail link to Assam. But the journey involved transhipment and ferry crossing both for passengers and for freight. The broad gauge (BG) link was extended in phases to Guwahati between 1965 and 1985. Two massive bridges on the mighty Branhmaputra at Kamakhya and Jogighopa and later extension of a BG link up to Dibrugarh and Lekhapani finally made it possible to travel to the North-East undisturbed. The North-east has now been truly integrated with the rest of the country.

    The Indian Railways continues to accord high priority to the area. A programme has been chalked out to remove the few remaining bottlenecks by doubling/gauge conversion of the existing metre gauge route, Katihar – New Jalpaiguri – Guwahati, and providing connection to the seven sistem States.

COMFORTABLE TRAVEL

    At the time of Independence passengers on the Indian Railways could avail of three classes in all the trains, namely, I class, II class and III class. The berths in the 2^nd and 3^rd classes consisted of wooden bunkers. There was no concept of advance reservation. If a passenger who travelled in the 50’s and did not travel in the intervening period were to take a train ride today, he will be amazed by the cumulative improvements brought about in this area. The concept of reservation for the first class and later for the second class was introduced with no or little addition to the fares. During the ‘70s the thrid class was abolished altogether and the berths in the second class (including third class upgraded as second class) were cushioned. The Integral Coach Factory at Perambur (Tamilnadu) and the newly set up Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala in Punjab significantly contributed to the redesigning of second class and sleeper coaches for better passenger comfort. These two coach factories also helped the Indian Railways introduce AC2 tier/AC 3 tier and AC Chair Car on virtually all trains throughout the country to enable passengers to travel in comfort at an affordable cost. AC 2-tier was introduced as a replacement for 1^st class because of its larger capacity and better comfort in terms of insulation from noise, heat and dust. However, since the fare for AC 2-tier was beyond the reach of many passengers, the Indian Railways introduced AC 3 tier, to bring air-conditioned travel without the reach of the masses. Similar considerations dictated the introduction of AC Chair Car.

    The Indian Railways started introducing the prestigious Rajdhani and Shatabdi services during the ‘70s and ‘80s respectively or to match the best in the world. The Rajdhanis connect various state capitals to Delhi while the Shatabdis provide superfast services between the major cities of the country. These trains have not only broken the speed barriers of 100 kmph by routinely attaining speeds of 130 kmph but they have also set up new standards in catering and onboard services.

Technological Innovations

    The Indian Railways has always been in the forefront of development and utilisation of appropriate technologies for rail transport in the country. They have an exclusive Research, Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) dealing with all aspects of technology relating to rail transport. Immediately after Independence the thrust was on building indigenous capabilities for meeting the requirements of locomotives, coaches and other rolling stock for meeting the ever-increasing needs of traffic. Starting with Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) at Chittaranjan and the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur, today Indian Railways has the Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala, the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) at Varanasi, the Wheel & Axle Plant at Bangalore, and the Diesel Component Works at Patiala, where the emphasis has been to absorb and assimilate the latest in rail transport technology adopted to suit the unique Indian requirements. CLW which had started with the manufacture of steam locos has now totally switched over to the manufacture of state-of-the-art electric locomotives with transfer of technology.

    The Indian Railways was the first in the country to introduce computers in a big way in batch processing applications of pay roll, inventory control and accounting. Also, over and above the Passenger Reservation System and advanced Passenger Information Systems they are in the process of developing an integrated Management Information System covering the entire network. A Long Range Decision Support System providing for scenario building and ‘what-if’ analysis for investment planning has also been developed and is being utilised for investment planning and decision making.

    Modern signalling systems using solid state interlocking auxiliary warning systems for enhancing and ensuring safety, heavier rails, concrete sleepers, elastic fastenings, long span bridges in pre-stressed concrete, improvements in overhead electric traction, use of information technology in all area of railway working etc. are the other areas where Indian railways are utilising modern technology to meet the combined needs of traffic and safety.