Private Freight Trains Announced On Hanuman
Jayanti
Freight, the main cash-cow of the Indian Railways, is
about to shake off its monopolist mantle. Properly transformed, it can put the
Railways back in the green all by itself.
Not only that, but setting the economics of the Indian
Railways right can become the biggest institutional turn-around after the triumph of the reformed indirect taxation system with GST.
The advent of private freight trains, it was announced,
could later lead to private passenger trains as well.
But, for now, the move is meant to be a modest force
multiplier.
Working in parallel with the policy to create dedicated
freight corridors, and probably in anticipation, the Railway Ministry will
permit private freight trains to connect, directly from dedicated sidings and
terminals.
Companies such as Tata Steel, Adani Agro, Kribhco,
already have their own terminals.
Others, that move large tonnages, not particularly suited
to road transport or its economics, such as coal, cement, steel, automotive,
logistics, grain, chemical, fertiliser and prefabricated sections, have been
asking for their own terminals and freight trains.
In 2017 itself, 55 additional private freight terminals
are to be built at an investment of about Rs. 5,000 crores. Together, these are
expected to move 20-25 million tonnes of additional load per annum for a start.
Over FY 17 Indian Railways has loaded 1,107 million
tonnes of freight by itself, surpassing its targets and setting a record. Current year targets are set higher still, at
1,200 million tonnes.
These private freight trains can either acquire their own
specialised rakes and rolling- stock , or, theoretically speaking, rent/lease
them from the Indian Railways.
Unengaged rolling-stock available with the Indian
Railways is usually hard to come by. Therefore, most privates are likely to
commission their own.
A new Rail Regulator office, along the lines of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority Of
India (TRAI), is being created to independently recommend freight and passenger
tariffs in future.
Indian Railways will however manage the operations of
these private freight trains on its tracks, on a chargeable basis.
This announcement may be hinting that the badly needed
dedicated freight corridors which will complement this move, will soon be a
reality.
The road transport sector meanwhile, has long stolen a
march, with lower tariffs and faster down times, particularly for smaller
payloads suited to 10 ton trucks and container bearing trailer-trucks.
This has, in turn, cut into the overall freight revenue
kitty of the Indian Railways, affecting its profitability, and its ability to
cross-subsidise passenger fares as of yore.
So, this privatisation move in the freight area has not
come a moment too soon.
The Indian Railways has gargantuan and multiple needs. And
despite its impressive usage statistics, is severely cash-strapped.
One of India’s biggest employers, and possessed of great
professional expertise, it nevertheless needs much out-of-the-box thinking to
find solutions and leverage its considerable strengths.
After years of systemic stagnation and populist neglect,
the Modi government has been making strenuous attempts to revive it.
It is historically one of the greatest railway networks
in the world, 4th in size globally, with great military/civilian
strategic significance, and future potential throughout the 21st century.
The Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, a technocrat
with a reputation for turning around large enterprises, and a penchant for
efficiency, has been working hard on all fronts.
He has been struggling, from the first, to continue with
the policy of cross-subsidising passenger fares, raised, but not enough, with
freight revenues.
However, with the merging of the Railway Budget with the
Union Budget as of this year, finding money for strategic projects is now going
to get easier.
The menu of needs is indeed long. There is new track
being laid, particularly in the North East, modernisation, safety, security,
passenger amenities, cleanliness, bio-toilets.
New coach and engine factories are being built and old
ones refurbished.
There is the rapid expansion of digitisation, not just of
bookings and responses, but also all internal processes and monitoring system
in real-time. Catering is being improved.
And, yes, the long awaited dedicated freight corridors are
making progress. There is the expensive land acquisition, and the passing
muster with environmental and forest laws for the new routes.
The first of
several bullet trains between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is nearing implementation
stage.
The Indian Railways, for itself, is also working on
private-public partnerships to leverage vast railway real estate and transform
railway stations, particularly in tourist and pilgrimage spots.
Will there be new private passenger trains anon, perhaps
to rival the Raj era ones built for the Maharajahs?
And these, alongside modern, purpose-built freight rakes?
The competitive future beckons, and
Indian Railways is on its way.
For: ABP Live
(767 words)
April 11th, 2017
Gautam Mukherjee
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