Some rail projects which the country really needs

I wish to throw more light on some of the projects which I believe our country really needs. I would concentrate more on the South as I feel that it is here where the railway network is underdeveloped. Moreover, I am not all that legitimate to comment on the requirements in the Northern parts of India as I have never lived there and do not have a first hand experience of the difficulties or the problems faced by the people there due to lack of rail connectivity.
South is the region where the seas and thereby the port cities come into picture and therefore the railways cannot really ignore this region. Also compared to all other regions, it is the Southern region that houses the maximum number of metros like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi (Ernakulam) compared to Mumbai and Ahmedabad in the West. Delhi and Kolkata are the only 2 metros that one can think of in the North and East, respectively. Hence the railways cannot really afford to ignore the Southern region of the country. A lot needs to be done in this region to meet the requirements for the present as well as the future ; no railway lines can be taken up to meet the selfish requirements of a few vested interests of a particular region. The credibility and feasibility of the projects need to be examined and it is what I have attempted here, within the framework of my knowledge.

 Some of the projects that are really crucial to the South are :

1.)    Chennai-Pondicherry-Rameswaram railway line

The railway line connecting the Eastern coast of India, begins at Chennai and extends all the way to Kolkata, via Vishakapatnam, an important coastal city in Andhra Pradesh. However, the region below Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, is largely deprived of rail connectivity. Though Pondicherry has a railway station, it is not directly connected to Chennai, because of which an important nuclear plant at Kalpakkam or the important place of tourist importance, Mahabalipuram, are inaccessible through rail. The other important fishing towns in Tamil Nadu like Cuddalore and Nagapattinam to the South of Pondicherry, too lack a direct rail connectivity to Chennai through the East Coast Road (ECR). A double railway line from Chennai to Rameswaram, covering all the towns like Pondicherry, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Tirchendur, etc needs to be commissioned so that the entire coast of Tamil Nadu is connected by rail to the rest of the country.

2.)     Rameswaram-Kanyakumari railway line

Rail connectivity needs to be provided along the coast between the 2 important towns of religious importance in Tamil Nadu. Presently, the trains plying between these towns head to the Madurai to the North of Kanyakumari and then take a turn towards the South, to reach Rameswaram.


3.)     Doubling or Tripling of Konkan railway line

The line which runs through an extremely tough terrain  in the Western Ghats along the Konkan coast of India, is indeed an engineering marvel. It connects Mumbai to Mangalore through the coastal parts of both Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides Goa. This line needs to be doubled or tripled on a priority as it forms a major link connecting all the coastal regions in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Nagercoil- Kanyakumari). The Roll-on Roll-off (RORO) services offered in Maharashtra, where-in the heavy trucks which cannot negotiate through the steep curves in the erstwhile NH 17, in the regions of Kudal and Satara, are loaded onto the rakes and transported to the South, could be further enhanced so as to provide a quick and seamless connectivity between regions in the West coast.

4.)     Doubling of Bangalore- Mangalore railway line

The line that runs through as many as 57 tunnels in the Western Ghats to connect the coastal city of Karnataka to its state capital, needs to be doubled. Presently, the railways operates between 8-10 goods trains and 1 or 2 passenger trains along this route. For technical reasons, more passenger trains cannot be run as it may result in derailment. For the same reason, the number of carriages to the trains is also restricted. Hence a double line along this route would provide connectivity from Mangalore to other important towns in the East like Chennai, Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam, Bhubaneshwar etc via Bangalore.

5.)      Shimoga-Talaguppa-Honnavar railway line

This links the main land of Karnataka to its coastal region but is stuck due to lack of environmental clearance much similar to the Hubli- Ankola railway line. The line provides direct connectivity to Karwar, an important port city besides an alternative (perhaps shorter) route to Goa ; Mumbai  and the Konkan region as a whole, comes closer to the Malnad region of Karnataka. More trains could be run on the ever busy, Bangalore-Mumbai route covering several backward regions. This line is believed to cause serious damage to the forest regions of Malnad ; an alternative route from Talaguppa to Kumta via Siddapur and Sirsi is not being considered as it does little good for the railways unlike the route to Honnavar (which is just 20 Kms South of Kumta). The route to Honnavar is important as it provides the much needed connectivity to the Gerusoppa dam downstream Jog Falls, where hydroelectricity is generated. The Hubli-Ankola railway line which has time and again failed to receive the environmental clearance, could scrapped once for all, if this project were to materialize.

6.)      Bangalore-Pune railway line doubling

This railway line that runs through Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka and Miraj & Karad in Maharashtra is a crucial line connecting between Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune to the South. The line is already saturated and is operating beyond its capacity ; it would be no surprise if an expert were to suggest its quadrupling in future. Hence the line needs to be strengthened.

7.)      Bidar-Gulbarga railway line

At the first look it might seem ridiculous to mention this is a project important for the country as it is intended to connect 2 of the virtually unknown destinations in Karnataka. However, some of the vital facts associated with this project needs to be considered before making an opinion. When operational, this line can bring down the commuting time between Delhi and the South by nearly 7 hours. Presently all trains are being diverted to Hyderabad due to the absence of this vital link. Also this line passes through all the mineral rich areas of the Karnataka, besides the country's largest cement factory (Wadi in Karnataka).

  

8.)            Mysore-Thalassery railway line

This line which has been mired in controversies ever since the tine of the late railway minister, Mr Lal Bahadur Shastry, has the potential to bring down the travel time from North Kerala to Bangalore and subsequently the other parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, by nearly 6 hours. In addition to functioning as an alternate route for trains plying on the Trivandrum-Chennai route (albeit longer), the feasibility of this project would be high as the line would cover, Mysore and Bangalore in Karnataka. The other controversial projects for the Mysore divison of South Western Railway like, Mysore- Madikeri-Mangalore and Mysore – Kushalnagar, could be integrated with this plan to ensure that a railway line is laid between Mysore and Madikeri. From Madikeri onwards, the line could be split into 2 with one going towards Mangalore and the other to Kannur / Thalassery in Kerala.

All the statements I have made above are on the basis of my personal opinion and knowledge, which could be shallow or improper. There could be certain facts to which I have not been adequately exposed. In such an event, the above post may not be all that correct.

A note on the expectations from IR

As and when the railway budget approaches, we get to read of different delegations of MLA's, MP's, representatives of the various chambers of commerce meeting the railway ministers requesting them to accord special priority to their respective regions in the budget. Everyone's demands are justified but it must be borne in mind that the person who presents the budget is the minister for the entire country and not for any particular region. He/She must have a vision on the requirements of the country which must essentially translate into a suitable allocation of funds in the budget.

I wish to write a note on what I think is truly required for the country as a whole and not just one particular region, in the following part :

1.)       It is commendable to note that a majority of the state capitals in the country are linked by rail on a daily basis to the national capital. Likewise, every district headquarter in a state must be connected to its capital.
        The regions in the North Eastern states of the country where this is not true, must be connected by rail on a priority basis so that the above clauses hold good.

2.)      All the metropolii in the country must be linked to each other as also the port cities in the country. Special treatment needs to be given to the railway lines that connect port cities.

3.)     Trunk lines must be identified for every state and depending on the traffic, these need to be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled.

4.)     Every city which has a traffic of 50 lakh and above must be provided with a commuter rail system so that its central business districts are connected to all regions within a radius of 70 Kms.

6.)     'Nationalization of a route' needs to be redefined. At present (In the words of the transport minister for Karnataka, R. Ashok), it means that only government buses can operate along the route. The term ‘nationalization’ should mean that only trains can be operated along the route. The railways can enter into revenue sharing agreements with the Road Transport Corporations of the states to provide last mile connectivity to the regions across the country.
   
      Eg, IR can enter into a pact with both KSRTC and MSRTC for land transport between Bangalore and Mumbai according to which only trains would be run between the 2 cities ; neither KSRTC nor MSRTC would be running any buses on the route. The revenue obtained by the railways would be shared appropriately by the IR, KSRTC and MSRTC as the RTC's have lent their share of passengers to the railways. The passengers would get to travel between the cities at a much lower cost while the fleet of buses in both the RTC's could be used to provide connectivity to the backward and rural areas of their respective states, where no railway lines have been laid. This would also bring down the fuel consumption of the RTC's which indeed would have a cascading effect of wonders on the country's economy.

I have often read of people favoring the electrification of tracks as it saves a large quantity of fossil fuel (diesel) used to run the trains. While this is true, it must be borne in mind that coal is being used abundantly by the railways to supply the high voltage required for the tracks. This essentially means that the conservation of fossil fuels is merely seeming as it is not really happening in actual practice. However, the availability of coal and petroleum as natural resources in India, makes considerable difference.

High Speed Trains in India

I just happened to read of the proposals put forth by none other than the 'Metro Man of India', Dr E. Sreedharan, between Trivandrum and Kasargod (in North Kerala, which was earlier a part of Karnataka), though in his opinion, the service must be operational between the Southern-most capital in the Indian peninsula and Mangalore or Udupi in Karnataka. He has also opined that a high speed rail link is very essential between Bangalore and Mysore as well. This is indeed made a very exciting read. Also, it is not the first time that Indian cities are referred to in the context of high speed, high-end trains ; not too long ago, we have witnessed our railway ministers speaking of commissioning bullet trains in India between a few routes like : Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Howrah, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Bangalore-Chennai and Bangalore-Ernakulam via Coimbatore. It would certainly be great if we can have infrastructure of this quality for inter-city commuting. However, as far as my small mind can think, there are several hurdles that one needs to overcome in order to make sure that these projects see the light of the day.

As far as my knowledge is concerned, in order to operate a bullet train between any 2 regions, it is necessary to commission a separate railway line. This is so because the technology and the mechanism associated with the operation of a bullet train are much different than those of the trains that are presently being run in India. As per the estimates prepared in 2009, it would cost about 100 crores to lay a track of 1 Km length that satisfies the requirements of a bullet train. This cost excludes the land acquisition expenses. If one were to commission a railway line between, say Bangalore and Chennai, two of the prominent business centers in the South,which are nearly 360 Kms apart, the cost of laying the railway line would be 36000 crores!!!!!! As a matter of fact, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are nearly 500 Kms apart! It must be noted that these are the figures if one goes as per the costs in the year 2009 ; the rise of prices in steel and iron as also sand and cement needs to be taken into account while preparing the estimates of the project that would be relevant for today. Any delay in the execution would escalate the costs further. So given the facts and figures that are associated, one question that is constantly doing rounds in my mind is "Does India really need a bullet train?" The answer for it is a very certain "YES" as these trains would bring in speed in terms of commuting which does indeed matter a lot. But how do we pool-in the funds required for them? Also why exactly do we need a bullet train or a maglev (Magnetic Levitation) train? It is simply because of the speed that they bring in.

When it is not clear that whether or not India is in a position to invest such an obscene sum of money on a railway line, is it not sane to think of an alternative? (Perhaps we too could have invested ! If only scams like the ones related to Bofors or the sanction of 2G spectrum were averted ; the money involved with the latter was so huge that it was sufficient to link all the capitals in the South by a bullet train let alone the ordinary ones, if the 2009 estimates are anything to go by). Indian railways is looking at virtually intangible projects when there are several inexpensive alternatives that require only a fraction of the amount to implement as compared to these high-end ones.

It is indeed exciting to think of what a quadrupled or even a double railway line between Bangalore and Chennai could do. With the existing infrastructure ( I am not sure of what portion of the route has been doubled or tripled ), the fastest train, Shatabdi express takes 5 hours to cover a distance of 362 Kms without stopping anywhere. If only we have a dedicated line of the existing standard all along the 362 Km distance which does not call for even the slowing down of the train at major stations (where it does not stop), the distance could certainly be reduced by an hour. The laying of ballast-less tracks which I believe is the case with Konkan railway, allows the train to chug at a speed as high as 160 Km / hr. Also, at present, the fastest train in India, the Bhopal-New Delhi Shatabdi express, runs at a speed of 160 Km / hr. One needs to examine whether the maximum speed that a train can move with can exceed this because, given the tough terrain of the Konkan region, there have been restrictions on the speed for which the tracks are designed. Hence, the trains do not really clock a speed of 160 Km/hr in the Konkan region. In a route such as the one between Bangalore and Chennai, one need not worry about the terrain as it is not as menacing as the Konkan. There are no tunnels or ridges through the hills to fear landslides or derailments due to natural disasters caused by the terrains.

If a train that is meant to be non-stop (like Durontos) travels at a speed of 160 Kms per hour, a distance of 500 Kms is just 3 plus hours away. The nearly 2500 Km distance between Bangalore and Delhi would be a matter of one night as against the 2 nights and 1 day duration, presently. Mumbai would only 6 hours away from Bangalore at the same affordable price. Presently it takes 2 days and 2 nights to reach Guwahati from Bangalore by train. If a dedicated railway line along the Eastern coast of India is in place, this city would be hardly 16 hours away as one needs to cover 3500 plus kilometers by land.

Dr E. Sreedharan has stated that Mysore would just be 30 minutes away from Bangalore once the high speed rail project is implemented. But with the existing railway line being doubled, a new expressway being developed besides the revamping of the existing state highway, it is beyond doubt that Mysore is already on its way to becoming a twin city of the state capital. As a matter of fact, if one were to traverse through the Central Business District (CBD), then Kengeri is 2 hours away from the airport, both of which are well within Bangalore!! This being the case, what is the point of being able to reach Mysore in a span of 30 minutes? Indian railways must conduct a holistic and a pragmatic survey of the projects that are truly necessary and affordable to the country.

The most sought after political tool

Whenever, I think of Indian railways, several facts that are associated with it like having the largest rail network in the world or of being the largest recruiter of manpower rarely cross my mind. Of course I really feel proud whenever I note them or the history behind the commissioning of the Konkan Railway line, but very rarely does one tend to think that way. I cannot help feeling a sense of frustration when I realize that Indian railways, an organization that can do wonders to the economic growth of the country is being used as a tool by the politicians to enhance the base of voters in their respective states ; this has been true at least since the past 8 years.

The number of train services to the state of Bihar must have shot up to an all time high between the period 2004-2009 when Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav served as the railway minister. I am not fully familiar with the statistics of the period but when the budget was presented for the year 2008-2009, it was proposed to start a total of 65-70 new services to the country out of which nearly 28 trains either originated or passed through the towns and cities of Bihar. The hue and cry raised by various chambers of commerce across the country had one thing in common to say, after watching Mr Yadav's presentation - "This is a Lalu-Velu budget" (Mr Velu was a minister of state for railways in the UPA government between 2004- 2009) as they felt that most of the trains were meant to cater to the needs of Bihar and Tamil Nadu and not India as a whole. As per the statements issued by Mr Yadav year after year, Indian railways was reeling under profits under his regime because of which he has reduced the fares twice or thrice in his tenure. This move by him was dubbed as a gimmick to help the people of his state (Remember the slogan, "Hum hai Bihari, Bina ticket Savari"). Interestingly, Mr Jaffer Sharieff, former railway minister, the man who proposed the unigauge system (broad gauge) for the rail tracks across the country, had expressed several reservations to the claims of Mr Yadav. In his opinion, Mr Yadav could have taken up several other projects that could foster the holistic growth of the country, like dedicated freight corridors between all the major cities, rail links to the North Eastern states or even improved connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the country, especially the southern region. Introduction of new trains to backward regions of the country is commendable as it spurs their progress and growth ; however, the ministers are not really concerned about that. In a bid to impress their voters, they have neglected several other projects that need to be taken up on a priority basis.

The reckless introduction of new train services to the metro cities has added to the pressure in these regions. As per the below report, the Delhi Division of Northern railway has asked the railway ministry not to introduce more trains to the regions under its jurisdiction as the available infrastructure is inadequate to handle them. Here is a report that was recently published in 'The Economic Times' :


http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-05/news/31027009_1_new-trains-passenger-rail-budget



In the year 2009, when Ms Mamata Banerjee presented the budget, it was practically the Indian railway budget of West Bengal. Howrah (Kolkata) was linked to every nook and corner of the country. When the talks regarding the formation of the second chapter of UPA government, TMC, under the leadership of Ms Banerjee had consented to offer support only if the portfolio for railways was given to them. With an eye on the assembly elections in the year 2011, Ms Banerjee doled out several railway projects and services to her native state, because of which she won the elections and became the chief minister, thereby succeeding in her ambition. The other aspect of interest that the country witnessed in her regime was her claim about the railways being severely hit by the global recession of 2008 because of which she sent feelers saying that a fare hike needs to be contemplated. Interestingly, this was a claim of a completely opposite nature to that of Mr Yadav, who just an year ago had proclaimed that the railway coffers were full and that he planned to reduce the fares further! (The bigger element of surprise was that the UPA president Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh acknowledged both the claims! When the picture was clear, they chose to maintain a tacit silence over the entire issue). However, she chose to defer the decision of fare hike by an year as the elections in West Bengal were not too far off. Once her 'Mission West Bengal' was successful, she allowed her sub-ordinate, Mr Dinesh Trivedi to take over and do the needful for their (party to stay in power in the) state.

Though, New Delhi boasts of the rail bhavan, under the regime of Ms Banerjee, Kolkata was the rail capital of India, as she worked from her home town. As per a report published in 'The Times of India', a sum of nearly 11 crore was spent in moving all the files from the national capital to Kolkata to suit her convenience!

 On a personal scale, I believe that Ms Banerjee needs to be complemented more than Mr Yadav for one reason - the introduction of non-stop services (Durontos) between major cities (one of them was essentially Howrah). As per the reports of both 'The Deccan Herald' and 'The Times of India', the Duronto between Yeshwantpur (Bangalore) and Howrah was a roaring success as 99% occupancy was clocked on the very inaugural run from the southern capital to the North Eastern metropolis. The success has been phenomenal with the other services as well like, Howrah-Mumbai, Chennai-New Delhi, Howrah-New Delhi,  Bangalore- New Delhi etc. Despite the non-stop services that are truly commendable, the rail infrastructure still seems far from being adequate as the movement of freight, connectivity to the ports, unmanned level crossings, space dearth for the harboring of trains in the metros, encroachments on railway land, anti-collision equipments to prevent accidents and punctuality of the 11,000 odd passenger trains that run across the country on an average everyday, are just some of the major problems that railway department needs to deal with. Hence the need of the hour is a visionary railway minister like Mr Lal Bahadur Shastry who can look beyond petty politics and work sincerely to serve the country its due, through the railways.