While the government ambitiously introduces fast trains, gaps in basic railway infrastructure, policy lacunae, and concerns about equity and safety are likely to make it a rough ride. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
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On May 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Vande Bharat train route from Dehradun to Delhi via video conferencing.
According to the press release for the event, the express train, which covers 302 kilometres in just four hours and 45 minutes, "will herald a new era of comfortable travel experience, especially for tourists travelling to the state".
The press release also stated that the train has advanced safety features, including the 'Kavach' technology.
(Kavach is an automatic train protection electronic system by Research Designs and Standards Operation (RDSO) that helps prevent trains from jumping red signals and avoiding collision by automatically activating the train's braking system if the driver fails to control the train's speed.)
“On May 15, while launching a few railway projects in Odisha, Modi remarked, "India's speed and progress can be seen whenever a Vande Bharat train runs from one place to another."
On May 15, while launching a few railway projects in Odisha, Modi remarked, "India's speed and progress can be seen whenever a Vande Bharat train runs from one place to another."
Modi said the Vande Bharat Express trains are "becoming the engine for development for the country" while also strengthening "the spiritual and cultural connection" between places, in that particular instance "between Puri and Howrah".
In his Independence day address in 2021, Modi had promised that 75 Vande Bharat trains would be introduced by the end of 2023. The 2022 Union budget laid out a grand plan of introducing 400 semi-high-speed, next-generation Vande Bharat trains in the next three years.
The first high-speed rail corridor, with a maximum operational speed of 320 kilometres per hour (kmph), to execute the bullet train project in the country is set to be built between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
These are just a few recent examples to demonstrate how much the current regime, which is completing a decade in power soon, looks favourably towards fast trains.
There could be many reasons for the preference of the Modi government for fast trains. They help project that India has finally 'arrived' at the world stage and can compete with the speed and efficiency of a bullet train-touting Japan and the smooth speed of trains in industrialised Western countries.
This projection is as much for the domestic audience as for the diaspora and the international audience. For example, while addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora in Oman in 2018, Modi claimed that bullet trains will be a reality in India by 2022. "In new India, we no longer procrastinate," he said on the occasion.
Domestically, they cater to the influential new middle class that likes things to move fast and decisively.
The question remains, is the Indian railway infrastructure capable of meeting these high expectations? Is the country doing enough to build its capacity, both in terms of infrastructure and human resources, to ensure that this transition to faster trains is smooth and workable?
“The PCPSPS says that according to the data in the National Rail Plan 2030, railway routes in India are carrying 125 to 150 percent of the capacity against the desirable 70 to 90 percent capacity utilisation.
What about issues of equity? Are slower trains that cater to the vast majority of travellers in India getting their equal share of the tracks or are they in for a rough ride? What about the people living along the tracks? Are their needs to move freely in their localities getting sidetracked by the desire for the fast and furious trains?
According to the Press Information Bureau, in March 2022, the Indian Railways prepared the 'National Rail Plan for India 2030' to create capacity ahead of demand until 2050. Further, 58 super-critical projects of a total length of 3,750 km costing ₹39,663 crore and 68 critical projects of a total length of 6,913 km costing ₹75,736 crore have been identified for completion by 2024.
However, the Peoples' Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPSPS), through its statement on the Balasore train accident in Odisha, has raised concerns about the critical levels of congestion on around 10,000 kilometres of trunk routes.
The PCPSPS says that according to the data in the National Rail Plan 2030, railway routes in India are carrying 125 to 150 percent of the capacity against the desirable 70 to 90 percent capacity utilisation.
In February 2021, a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways pointed out that during 2018–19, only 470 km of railway network was constructed, while the target was 1,000 km.
According to the railway ministry, the factors that cause delays in commissioning new railway lines include resistance to land acquisition by state governments under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013; obstruction in forest clearance by officials of the forest department; time-consuming statutory clearances from various authorities for shifting of infringing utilities, that is, relocating unauthorised objects on the railway premises or tracks; and unforeseen conditions, including earthquakes, flooding, excessive rains, labour strikes and directions of courts.
According to a report on the maintenance of bridges in Indian railways by a Parliamentary standing committee, 37,689 bridges on the railway network are 100 years-old or older and were planned for lesser traffic and easier service conditions. With the total number at 147,253, one out of four railway bridges is "century-old".
The Parliamentary committee also pointed out that the safety of these old bridges may be severely compromised due to the running of faster and heavier trains.
Manickaraj, a former station master who managed tracks and handled interlocking operations, spoke with The Leaflet and explained that line capacity, that is, the number of trains that can run on a section in 24 hours, limits train operations.
“In February 2021, a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways pointed out that during 2018–19, only 470 km of railway network was constructed, while the target was 1,000 km.
He stressed that operating trains in excess of line capacity can cause the signal equipment to fail and reduce the speed of the trains, affecting the free flow of traffic. Running heavy-loaded goods trains frequently without laying heavy-strength railway tracks will likely cause more damage, he shared.
In October 2020, the Railway Board, a Union government body responsible for implementing policies and ensuring the smooth functioning of the Indian railways, approved the conversion from passenger trains to express and mail trains of 362 passenger trains by reducing the number of halts and to increase their speeding capacity.
An apprehension was raised that such a conversion could hit the marginal class who prefer passenger trains for their daily commute. One-third of the workers in India are employed in the service industry which contributes two-thirds of the country's Gross Domestic Product.
A majority of these workers are marginal earners and cannot afford a personal vehicle to commute from one place to another for work. Reduction in the number of passenger trains or even reducing the number of halt stations would make their commutes more difficult, reducing their earning capacity.
Vande Bharat trains were introduced in February 2019, and are currently running on 23 routes. A Vande Bharat train can run at a speed of upto180 kmph, but most of the existing railway tracks are not capable of supporting trains running at more than 160 kmph, thus reducing the maximum speed of Vande Bharat trains to 160 kmph.
There are concerns about the percentage of population that will be able to afford to travel in high-speed trains, given their typically higher fares. Trains like Vande Bharat are air-conditioned and have chair-car services, thus reducing the seating capacity and increasing ticket prices.
Then there is the issue of sidelining of short-distance trains. As per a report, in 2017, while the railway ministry planned to increase the speed of 600 trains, the same exercise was set to decrease the speed of 250 other trains.
Railway officials stated that the speeding of the trains at the cost of slowing down other trains was an "optimising exercise" that was "unavoidable" to "maintain the superfast character of some trains".
“Railway officials stated that the speeding of the trains at the cost of slowing down other trains was an "optimising exercise" that was "unavoidable" to "maintain the superfast character of some trains".
However, as one expert pointed out, while the news of the trains getting faster was widely publicised, the information about slowing-down other trains was not circulated at all. The expert called it a typical example of "lack of transparency" in the Indian railways.
According to another article, experts emphasise that the upgradation of tracks and other railway infrastructure is not likely to keep up with the speed of the Vande Bharat trains.
In the context of the first high-speed rail corridor, with a maximum operational speed of 320 kmph being executed for the bullet train project, an article by a retired official of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers argues that bullet trains are unsuitable for India.
The official also writes that the bullet train project is a massively expensive project involving public funds, which can be put to use in building health infrastructure and targeting other social needs such as poverty alleviation and education.
According to the article, the budget allocated for bullet trains can be channelised to upgrade the entire 20,000 km network of trunk routes to run high-speed trains on existing conventional lines, as well as building about 10,000 km of new double line routes to optimise the speed of trains by segregating faster trains from the slower ones.
In February 2022, during the introduction of two additional railway lines in the Mumbai Metropolitan Area, Prime Minister Modi himself had emphasised prioritising strengthening infrastructural capacity as "the need of the hour".
Highlighting the need for the railways to have dedicated staff for the inspection and maintenance of bridges, a Parliamentary standing committee had raised concerns about a 40 percent vacancy of staff for this category, writing, "Against a sanctioned strength of 7,669 the actual strength is 4,517."
Manickaraj stated that contractors, rather than full-time staff, are engaged in the maintenance of coaches and wagons as well as tracks and signals. They use untrained and unqualified personnel in these important departments.
He further explained that due to the hiring of ad hoc contractors, the only remedy available to officials against shoddy work or unsatisfactory performance, or in case a fault accrues, is cancellation of contracts, leading to a lack of accountability as there is no one who can be held responsible for lapses in safety.
A statement issued by the PCPSPS points to a report by technical experts on the issue of ensuring safety in railways. The statement highlights that in 2012, the report of the 'high level safety review committee', under the chairmanship of Dr Anil Kakodkar, had made certain recommendations on railway safety, including setting up an independent statutory railway safety authority, strengthening the RDSO, and adopting an advanced signalling system (Kavach system) for the entire trunk route length of 19,000 km within five years.
“According to an article, experts emphasise that the upgradation of tracks and other railway infrastructure is not likely to keep up with the speed of the Vande Bharat trains.
It has been a decade since the report was passed with recommendations, but the ministry has failed to implement the recommendations, the PCPSPS statement adds.
According to Manickaraj, the electronic interlocking system that is presently used in railway stations across the country is not suitable for the weather conditions prevalent in the Indian subcontinent.
He further explained that faults that cause accidents can occur due to the lack of maintenance by three technical departments— the department maintaining points and crossings; the signal and telecommunication department for signal equipment maintenance; and the mechanical department for maintenance of train engines, passenger bogies and goods wagons.
Manickaraj opined that the interference of miscreants or livestock is likely to affect the signalling system in railways. Train services are known to get repeatedly affected due to cattle crossing and lack of boundary walls on the sides of the tracks.
In 2022, reportedly, the railway ministry expressed its plan to fence tracks to prevent cattle run-over cases and consequential cattle deaths as well as damage to the high-speed trains.
There are also concerns about railway tracks passing through villages causing hardships to people, including school students, in their day-to-day activities. In April 2018, the construction work Haridaspur–Paradip railway project was halted as hundreds of residents of three villages agitated against the new railway line being built through the agricultural fields, preventing them from carrying out farm work and grazing cattle.
In February this year, protests ensued against the construction of a 260-metre-long service line by the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, to lay a double track of the Hospet Vasco-da-gama railway line in Velsao village of South Goa. The protestors alleged that authorities had broken a private compound wall built by residents.
According to a report, data from the Ministry of Railways presented in the Lok Sabha said that elephant deaths on tracks have nearly doubled from 10 to 19 between 2019 and 2021. The deaths of other wild animals increased 1.5 times— from 44 in 2019 to 69 in 2021.
Fencing will not solve these problems as land masses will be divided and made impossible to cross for man and animal alike.
On June 2, more than 260 persons died and thousands were injured in the Odisha railway accident where three trains collided in the Balasore district. The accident occurred when the Yesvantpur–Howrah Express entered Bahanaga Bazar railway station in northeast Odisha, and seconds later, the Shalimar–Chennai Coromandel Express entered the passing loop instead of the main line near the same railway station and collided with a stationary goods train.
Considered one of the deadliest railway accidents in India, the crash has raised several safety concerns, as well as doubts about the adequacy of railway infrastructure in India.
“In 2022, reportedly, the railway ministry expressed its plan to fence tracks to prevent cattle run-over cases and consequential cattle deaths as well as damage to the high-speed trains.
Although there has been a decrease in railway accidents in India, the lack of focus on infrastructure and neglect of safety measures raises the bigger concern of exhausting the capacity to meet future needs.
In their rush to have faster and faster trains, will the authorities in India be able to pay heed to the unglamorous, tedious and long grind of infrastructure and policy development?