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Speeding up gauge conversion

It is high time that Indian Railways pushed ahead with its `Project Unigauge' and completed it at least by the end of the Eleventh Plan. The project was started years ago during the tenure of Jaffer Sharief as Railway Minister and it makes little economic or operational sense to leave just over 20 per cent or 13,000 km of its rail network in the metre or the narrow gauge. Just as the safety programme was given an impetus over the past three years, it is for the Planning Commission and the Railway Board to see that the remaining sections of the metre and narrow gauges in the system are converted into broad gauge on a priority basis. Leaving islands of these smaller gauges in the national network creates huge problems for the system particularly at the zonal level. Maintenance of the track as also the rolling stock and locomotives operating in the metre and narrow gauge sections — they are getting depleted — poses another challenge. There have been instances in Southern Railway, for instance, where metre gauge rolling stock had to be transported by broad gauge platform wagons to the nearest maintenance workshops. To avoid such wasteful exercises that add to the overheads of India's premier monolith public sector organisation, which is transforming into a profit-generating undertaking, it becomes imperative to shift to a unigauge system. It is up to the Railways to convince the Planning Commission and secure adequate funding to complete the gauge conversion work within the next five years.

Considering that 50,000 km network of gauge conversion has been completed in a little over a decade, a five-year time span cannot by any means be regarded as too short. To convert one kilometre of metre gauge into broad gauge can cost anywhere from Rs.2 crore to Rs.3 crore, depending on the terrain of the track — whether it is flat or mountainous — as well as the number of bridges, for instance. Another sensitive issue that needs to be addressed relates to the prestigious heritage mountain railways — such as in Shimla and the Nilgiris. The Indian Railways operates hugely popular tourist special trains that run on narrow gauge and chug along the beautiful mountains to take visitors to the hill stations. With the help of India Tourism and the State Governments, these heritage specials will have to be retained as they are, with some modernisation in their operations so that they can be made safer and more cost-effective. If necessary, the Railway Board should take a close look at the works in progress and the numerous new lines that have been announced so as to ensure that safety-related works, gauge conversion, and passenger amenities get the priority they deserve.

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