Reforms in Railways

General Studies Paper 3

Importance

There is no railway system quite like the Indian railways. Trains remain an essential lifeline in India, the world’s most populous country of 1.4 billion people, carrying about 13 million passengers a day

• The Indian Railways is the lifeline of India. With its vast network across the length and breadth of India, it is not just a mere transporter of passengers and goods but also a social welfare organization.
• Indian Railways (IR) has the 4th longest rail network in the world. It is a network of 70,000 km and runs about 21,000 trains, carrying 23 million passengers and 3 million tons of freight per day.
• Railways stretch their hands in conducting activities like business, sightseeing, pilgrimage along with transportation of goods.
• It is easier for long-distance travel.
• Plays a vital role in national integration.
• Railways hold a major hand in the economy of the country
• It strengthens the development of the industry and agriculture.
• Railways are the most preferred transport.
• They have the capacity to carry huge loads and bulky goods for long and short distances.

Government Initiatives

• Billions have been spent to upgrade and modernize the railway, including a plan to have 100% electrification of the railways by 2024 and the aim for them to go net zero by 2030.
• The railways are also in the process of installing an anti-train collision system, which causes trains to brake automatically
• The government has set a vision of making railways a 100% safe, fast and reliable mode of transport for passengers and freight.
• Dedicated freight corridor
• Diamond quadrilateral network of high-speed rail
• Rising passenger & freight traffic
• Track strengthening
• Elimination of curves and level crossing gates and
• Strengthening of bridges.
• Track fencing especially in densely populated areas.
• Recently there has been a record allocation of funds for infrastructure and safety upgrades, with a particular focus on the introduction of modern new stations and high-speed Vande Bharat – translating as “salute to India”

Issues in Railways

safety concerns

• Rising on the railways and the number of consequential rail accidents on Indian Railways increased by 37% last year. It is a “matter of grave concern”.
• Derailments of trains remain the main cause. Trains to brake automatically, so far operational on 2% of the network only
• Technology had yet to be installed and upgraded on India’s oldest and busiest routes in terms of passengers and trains carrying oil and coal.
• Till January ,2023, 3.12 lakh posts were vacant in the Indian railways these include vacant posts in safety, maintenance and engineering

Service Quality is not up to the mark

• Overburdening of the Railway infrastructure due to heavy passenger load. There laying of new tracks is at slow speed. There is little capital expenditure on the railways.
• The number of stranded projects is also high in Railways.
• Quality of food served to passengers by the Indian railways is not satisfying.
• Dirty Blankets for AC compartments
• There are rising complaints over unclean toilets and sanitation accessories provided to the passengers.
• Redressal mechanism –The complaints raised by passengers on different issues are not addressed properly by the authorities

 Way ahead

while the focus has been on glossy modernization projects, safety remains the biggest problem for the Indian railways. An increasing number of trains have been put on the tracks to meet demand yet the workforce has not risen at the same level, leading to greater pressures on staff and more human error Reforms are needed in IR to ensure that it meets the requirements. To contribute comprehensively in Indian development IR needs administrative reforms, to improve services and efficiency and engineering reforms, to improve cost and environmental effectiveness