Revitalising the Railways

December 29, 2014 12:36 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:27 pm IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarification that there was no question of >privatising the Indian Railways may not have been wholly necessary. But, to dispel a rumour campaign that it was being privatised, Mr. Modi used the ‘good governance’ platform from his Varanasi constituency to drive home that message. The fact remains that the government and the Railways badly need private and foreign investment in the system. The kind of resources needed to take up ongoing projects and also launch ambitious ones such as the dedicated rail corridor and bullet train services, cannot be met by public sector funding alone. That is why the Prime Minister has been looking to Japan and China to provide both technological and financial support to some of these projects. Equally important was the reiteration of the plan to set up four Railway universities across the country. These will specifically cater to the needs of the railway system and provide readily employable candidates in various disciplines. The focus of the railway universities could be very specific, be it the electrical, mechanical or signalling fields, to mention a few. It will take some time for the Railways to do the basic homework, identify the locations and courses, and complete the formalities to start these institutions, which could also look at upgrading the skills of existing employees and providing them opportunities to acquire higher qualifications.

Internally, the Railways is constantly trying to raise more funds and increase earnings from both freight and passenger fares. But a rather unpopular move in recent months has been the dynamic pricing of fares and the premium-rate Tatkal tickets. In October, the Railways unveiled premium Tatkal ticketing, under which 50 per cent of the tickets going through the travel-eve Tatkal window was brought into a dynamic pricing package. While 10 per cent of tickets in the ordinary second class come under Tatkal, up to 30 per cent in the sleeper and higher classes are brought under it. Only e-ticketing is allowed, agents cannot book these tickets, and individual identity document numbers have to be provided online and produced during travel. About 80 popular trains were brought under this scheme. What is more, for the holiday season now, the Railways have introduced special premium trains based on the dynamic pricing policy. The chief problem with the premium scheme is that it keeps the ordinary passenger who books tickets at the railway counter, out of the system: those without Internet access cannot utilise this option. Notably, in its first Railway budget, the BJP-led NDA government raised passenger fares by 14.2 per cent across the board. Even last year, without the dynamic fares, the Railways earned about Rs.1,000 crore through the Tatkal scheme.

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