Rails Of Progress: Year-end Chronicle Of Growth, Challenges In Railway Sector

Indian railways are among the few statutory bodies which have been promoting social inclusivity along with economic productivity. Since transportation came into existence, railways emerged as the most affordable and faster mode of transportation. 

The sector enables citizens and cargo mobility and plays a pivotal role in encouraging economic development across the country. Dealing in 17 zones and 68 divisions, Indian Railways is also the biggest employer in the country which provides a large scale of employment to the Indian youth. 

Railway is a public domain though gradually government is involving the private stakeholders to utilise the potential of the sector completely. According to the data of the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India is projected to account for 40 per cent of the total global share of rail activity by 2050. 

As the inbound tourism in India is on boom after Covid-19, In 2023-24, traffic revenue is estimated to be Rs 2,64,600 crore, comprising 99.8 per cent of the total revenue while the sector posted a 25 per cent growth in its revenues to Rs. 2.40 lakh crore (USD 29 billion) for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).

2023 has been a prominent year for the sector in which several major developments took place to make the Indian Railways serviceable for the common Indian citizens. 

Railway Budget 2023

Indian railway serves the largest population in the world, therefore it has immense responsibilities as well as many purposes to deal with. That is why, till 2016, the railway budget was presented separately but on the recommendation of Niti Ayog, the railway budget was combined with the union budget from 2017 onwards. In the Union Budget, the railway sector has been allotted Rs 2.40 lakh crore as a capital expenditure, according to FM, the amount is approximately nine times more than the amount allocated in FY2013-14. 

The budget 2023-24 aimed to benefit the common Indian citizens in terms of fares and facilities. Along with that, it also emphasises ‘Make In India’ to make the railway sector more profitable for domestic manufacturers and industries. 

Apart from the plans, the Union Budget 2023-24 also underlined the major works that have been done; The Kavach system is being introduced, projects of doubling the railway line, coming of new generation trains lashed with high speed and premium services.

On the sustainability part, the Indian Railway also pledged to lower its dependency on carbon footprints & imported fuel and become a net-zero carbon emitter. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways claimed that this budget would benefit 800 crore passengers who annually travel by train. 

Electrification of Railway 

To achieve the vision of a sustainable future that has also been mentioned in the Union budget, the Railway also emphasises the electrification of the railway lines to make the environment clean and pollution-free. There is a separate body The Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) established in 1979 with the main focus on electrifying the major lines.

According to the data of the Railway Ministry, Indian Railways electrified 58,812 Route kilometers (RKMs) till 31 March 2023, which is about 90 per cent of the total broad-gauge network (65,300 RKMs) of Indian Railways. Out of a total of 58,812 Route Kilometers (RKMs), CORE has carried out electrification work of 45,912 RKMs which is roughly 78 per cent of the electrification work of the entire Indian railways.

The target of complete electrification of the Indian Railways is expected to yield significant savings on the annual fuel bill for the railways, which currently stands at over Rs 15,000 crore. 

Usage Of Technology

Indian railway deals with the largest population and carries huge operations in terms of commercial activities too. In this heavy work, technology for the Indian railway functions as the facilitator to ease the travel experience for travellers and trading activities for commercial organisations. 

In the last few years, like every other sector Indian railway also picked up the pace to utilise advanced technology for security and lesser time consumption. In this direction, the government launched semi-high-speed trains like Vande Bharat which was built in India only. The train has many high-technology lashed amenities like CCTV cameras, Wi/Fi and the usage of GPS-based systems for real-time tracking of trains. 

In addition, a large number of digitally interlocked stations have been created from old lever frames to computer-based operating systems e to derive benefits of digital technologies in train operation and to enhance safety. During 2022-23, 538 Nos. of stations were provided Electronic Interlocking as compared to 421 Nos. of stations during 2021-22, an increase of 27.79 per cent

To prevent an elephant-rail collision, the Indian Railway has taken a turn to artificial intelligence (AI) named ‘Gajraj’ which will aim to reduce elephant fatalities from train accidents. The railway has one similar ‘Kavach’ system as automatic train protection (ATP), which has a similar goal to address train collisions. 

Schemes And Station Infrastructure

Railway stations are the main part of the Indian Railway that provide shelter to the passengers and goods that travel across the country for a variety of purposes and reasons. Therefore, the government also focuses on strengthening the infrastructure of the Railway stations. In the direction of the same, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ( 21 August) said that as many as 1,300 railway stations in the country are being redeveloped and modernised under the ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’.

As per the report of IBEF, July 2021, the Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC), a nodal agency of the Ministry of Railways spearheading the re-development of railway stations across the country, claimed that the two railway stations will be redeveloped at an indicative cost of Rs. 1,285 crore (USD 172.54 million) in four years.

The year 2023 has been a dynamic and transformational year for the Railway sector. Apart from developments and schemes, it has also witnessed major accidents in the Balasore district of Odisha and along with the same many minor mishaps took place. This implied that Indian railways need to integrate smarter forms of technology and efficient schemes to ensure the security of the running trains and passengers.