Choice of Traction

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STRATEGIES FOR MEETING TRANSPORT DEMANDS

Role of Railways

by Ashutosh Banerji for RAILWATCH

The Indian economy enters the tenth plan withan expectation of 6% to 7% annual growth inthe GDP and consequently 7.2% to 8.4% growth in the transport sector. These expectationsplace heavy demands on the alreadysaturated road and rail transport system which coupledwith the inadequacies in the power sector could be a major constraint in the realisation of the

projected economic growth. With Airways, Coastal Shipping and Inland Waterways being inthe fringes,freight transport in India is basically shared between Road and the Rail sectors.

Both these sectors have not kept pace with the demands in terms of capacity as well as the

quality of service.

Strategiesforcapacity generationalong with thetechnological inputs,matchinginvestmentsand the institutional frameworkneeded are the main focus of this paper.

Road Transport Scenario

The road network in India has grown from4 lakh km. in 1951 to over 30 lakh km nowsecond largest in the world.The quality, however, is indifferent.Half the network is madeup of unpaved roads. A growth rate of 5.6% was sustained in the 60s. This picked up brieflyto 8% in the 4th Plan. The progress thereafter has only been 3%. Geographical accessdefined as the road length per 1000 sq. km of area has increased from 122 km in 1951 to 700km now. The South Zone has a better access of 800 km as compared to 465 in the North

Zone. A plethora of agencies are vested with the responsibility for laying and maintainingroads. There is no coordination amongst these agencies.

Salient features Freight Traffic has grown90 times from5.5 BTKM in 1951 to over 500

BTKM now. Passenger Traffic has grown 80 times from23 to 1800 BPKM in the same

period. National and State Highways comprising only 8% of the network carry 80%

of the traffic. Less than 5% of the National Highways have4 lanes. A 7 fold increase in the Network with 90 times increase in Vehicles has lead

to extreme congestion. Network is beset with strip development andencroachments. No provision made forRight of Way to enable 4 laningfrom 2 lanes. A conscious decision to distribute resources thinly for constructingnarrowlightly paved surfaces. Weak structurals withoverloading have led tofast deterioration of theexisting fragile infrastructure.

Road Safety

Our road safety performance is dismal with2.65 deaths per 1000 registered vehicles,the


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highest in the world. 80,000 fatalities and 1.7million serious injuries with colossal lossesexceeding Rs 550 billion per yearis a matter of serious concern. With less than 1% of theworlds Vehicle population India contributes to 6% of the accidents. The technicaldeficiencies in the infrastructure coupled with ineffective policing and absence ofemergency serviceshas rendered road journey a virtual death trap.

All this coupled with extremecongestion and low operating speedshave led tohigh cost andlow quality of service for the road user.Yetthe shipper consistently opts for the RoadTransport.Strange but true. Railways need to sit up and take notice.

Action Plan for Roadways

Upgrade constructionspecifications to International Standards. Replace manual paving bymechanised paving. Provideproper soling.

Selectagencies with appropriate infrastructure and qualified engineers. Enforce Axle load limitations. InductMulti Axle Vehicles. Separate Up and Down traffic streams. Provide4 lane Highway/ Expressway Control encroachments Deal withcongestion Effectivehighway patrolling and put in place effective emergency service.

Investments Needed

The investments needed are assessed* as

Widening of single lane to 2 lanes 5200 km Rs 5200 Crores

Widening of 2 lanes to 4/6 lanes 14,000 km Rs 42000 Crores

Widening of pavements etc. 15,000 km Rs 9000 Crores

Construction of by passes 40 Rs 2000 Crores

Construction of Bridges 470 Rs 1000 Crores

Road Safety Works Rs 5000 Crores

New Expressways 2000km Rs 16,000 Crores

Total Rs 80,000 Crores

*Asian Transport Journal June 1998. Future Directions in Road Sector in India. byYogendra Narain former Secretary Surface Transport GOI.

Recent Initiatives

In the recent years exciting things have been happening in the Road Sector. Setting up ofNational Highway Authorityin 1995 andRoad Development Corporationsby some of thestates are thekey milestones of putting in place institutional mechanism withgreater

autonomy and faster decision making capability.Levying of cess on Petrol and Diesel to

generate the Central Roads Fundhas lent financial teeth to the execution of road


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development projects.

A National Highway Development Plan (NHDP)has been launched which envisagesamongst others4/6 laning of over 13,000 km ofGolden Quadrilateral Networklinking the

Metropolitan cities of Delhi Kolkata Chennai and Mumbai. This project is targeted forcompletion by December 2003.Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Silchar to Saurashtra sectorsare targetedfor completion by 2007. Major Ports are also to be connected to the GoldenQuadrilateral Network. While executing these projects, issues relating to Traffic

Management, Encroachments, Overloading, Road Safety, Corridor Management,Financing and removal of Non Physical Barriers are receiving attention.

Investments of Rs 54,000 croreshave been committed for these projects. This along with anappropriate institutional mechanism backed by astrong political support and commitmenthave lent impetus to the project execution.Induction of Multi Axle Vehicles(MAVs)wouldconsiderably enhance the payload carrying capacity of trucks. The road sector in India is

now poised to witness a vastlyimproved service delivery in the coming years.

Sharing of Traffic

Sharing of Freight Traffic between Road and Rail

Year Rail BTKM Road BTKM Rail % Road %

1994-95 250 375 40 60

1995-96 271 411 40 60

1996-97 278 432 39 61

1997-98 284 450 39 61

1998-99 282 468 38 62

1999-00 288 487 37 63

2000-01 316 507 38 62

2001-02 326 527 38 62

Wake up Call

Railway share ofFreight Traffic has declined from 89% in 1951 to 38%now. Golden Quadrilateral Road Network and Induction of Multi Axle RoadVehicles will make a serious dent Even heavy duty Bulk Transport may not remain the exclusive preserve of

the Railways. To reverse this trendinstead of crystal gazing it may be worthwhile toreview

our performance over the last five decades and evolve appropriate strategies.

Overview of Rail Transport

Growth of Freight Traffic since First Plan

Year Revenue

Loading

Total

Loading

BTKM

Revenue

BTKM

Total


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1950-1951 73.0 93.0 38 44

1960-1961 119.8 156.2 72 88

1970-1971 167.9 196.5 111 127

1980-1981 195.9 220.0 148 1581990-1991 318.4 341.4 235 243

2000-2001 473.6 495.0 317 319

Post independence the Railways made a flying start almost doubling the transport output in

the first 5 year Plan. There was however a perceptible slowing down from 1968 to 1980

followed by a revival in the last two decades.

Growth of Traffic in Successive Decades

Pattern of traffic growth in successive decades is another way of looking at the trend.

Increase in

Million Tonnes BTKM

1st

Decade 63 44

2nd

Decade 40 39

3

rd

Decade 23 314

thDecade 122 85

5th

Decade 153 76


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Traffic Growth in the last two decades has been impressive.

A quantum jump from 196 to 474 million tonnes in originating loading andfrom 148 to 317 BTKM in throughput has been achieved. Overall from 1980 to 2000 it has grown at a linear rate of 7%. The last decade has witnessed a growth of 4.9%

Future Projections

In the last year of the ninth plan an originating loading of 485 million tonnesand a BTKM of 326 is expected. For the tenth Plan the growth rate has been scaled down to 2.5%. This doesnot seem to match the overall growth rate for the economy.

Growth of Rail Infrastructure and Transport Output

1951 2000 IndexRoute Kilometres 53,596 62,759 117


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Track Kilometres 62,916 81,252 129

Locomotives 8209 7517 92

Passenger Coaches 19,628 41,348 211

Wagons 200,596 244,419 122

Revenue Loading mt. 73 456.4 625

Passengers (millions) 1284 4585 357

BTKM 38 305 802

BPKM 67 431 643

Implementation of successive Five Year Plans has been a success story for theRailways. Increase of mere 17% in the Network, 111% in Passenger Fleet, 22% in theWagon Fleet and net reduction of 8% in the Locomotive Fleet has delivered a

growth of over 800% in Freight and 600% in Passenger Traffic.

The Railways have served the National economy well. This was madepossible by certain significant policy initiatives taken in the 1st and the 4th Decades

of its existence. Another 60 BTKM is required to be lifted in the tenth Plan period.

Policy Initiatives

The traffic growth on the Indian Railways has been triggered by certain significant policyinitiatives in the initial years and again in the fourth decade. Some of these are

Early Years Nationalisation and Regrouping of Railways into 6 viable Zones. Construction of Assam Link Massive Programme for Rehabilitation of Assets. Modernisation of Traction Setting up of Production Units. Induction of Steel Bodied Integral Coaches Induction of heavy duty BOX wagons. These along with the Diesel

Locos broke the transport bottleneck in the Coal Steel Complex of Eastern

India. Induction of Roller Bearings and CBC in Freight Cars. Improvement in Track Geometry followed by up gradation of TrackStructure. Capacity builds up for Manufacture of Wagons. Modernisation of Signalling.

4th Decade High productivity Rolling Stock was segregated from plain bearing,

four wheeler and screw coupling stock. End to end running of High Productivity Stock was enforced bye

passing intermediate examination and change of Power. BOXN wagon design equipped with Air Brakes and Cast Steel Bogies


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was approved and Manufacture undertaken. Railway System was stretched to the limits of its capability andweaknesses in the infrastructure identified. Purposefulness was injected in Investment Decisions. Projects aimed

at expanding system capacity and selective elimination of deficiencies were

preferentially executed. Capacity expansion, System Reliability and Safety in operationreceived priority. Discipline was enforced and militancy in trade unions curbed. In the management team as well men were separated from boys and nononsense managers were given key assignments.

Transport Capacity Generation

The issue relating to the declining share of Railways in the Freight traffic matrix has to be

viewed in conjunction with the transport capacity generated by the Road and the Rail sectors.Some approximate data in this regard for the last decade is presented in the table and theChart below.

Year Roads BTKM Railways BTKM

1991-92 22 12

1992-93 15 13

1993-94 20 9

1994-95 22 5

1995-96 39 8

1996-97 52 1

1997-98 33 15

1998-99 31 12

1999-00 44 9

2000-01 36 9

In the decade that has gone byRailways created 135 BTKM of Transport


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Capacity against 368 BTKM by the Road Sector. It is nobodys case that Road Transport should not develop adequatecapacity. It is thesluggish growth of Railways that is disquieting. A strategy forarresting the declining share of Railways in the FreightTraffic matrix needs to be evolved. Investments and Technological inputs for closing this gap brook no delay.

An institutional arrangement for implementing the action plan needs to be put inplace.

Strategies for Railways

Enhance Transport Capacity Improve Quality of Service

Market penetration Institutional Arrangements

Enhance Transport Capacity

We are in Transport business. Trailing loads and operating speedsare our principalefficiency indicators.Within the limitations of a loop length of 686 meters and the existingand proposed Track Loading Density of 7.67 and 8.25 tonnes per meter the options are

Higher Axle Loads Higher Operating Speeds Increasing number of Axles per Wagon

Higher Axle Loads

Axle Load in tonnes 20.32 23.0 25.0

No. of Vehicles 58 58 58

Trailing Load in tonnes 4831* 5410 5800

Track Loading Density t/m 7.67 8.25 8.82

*With CC+2t

11 % higher throughput with 23t Axle Load and 20 % with 25t Axle Load canbe achieved With 25 t Axle Load Track Loading Density would need to be relaxed to 8.8t/m. Rail Wear already a matter of concern and may be aggravated by higher Axle

Loads. Higher operating speed may not be possible with higher Axle Loads. Higher Axle Loads appear to be a capital intensive solution.

Reduce Axle Loads

This can be achieved through the concept of a 3 Axle Bogie.


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Broad Design parameters

Axle Load 18.8 t

Gross Weight 112.8 t

Tare Weight 30.5 tPay Load 82.3 t

Wheel Diameter 840 mm

Length over Couplers 13.7 m

Length over Headstocks 12.77 m

Wagons per Rake 46

Gross Trailing Load 5200 t

Track Loading Density 8.24 t/m

Benefits This design of Wagon will afford a welcome relief to the Indian Railwaystrack which is under distress due to accelerated wear, premature renewals and

mounting overdues. Operating speeds of 90 and 100 km/h would be easily achievable. 10 to 12% additional throughput would be delivered. Wagon would cost some what, more compensated by savings in Track

Maintenance and higher productivity. Makes sound economic sense to invest inRolling Stock rather than increase arisings of track renewals. Finished steel would be added to the basket of commodities that can betransported.

SuggestionsWe now consider a few suggestions.

Freight Business Thebasket of commodities hauled by Railways would need to be increased.The present designs are not enough. Commodity specific wagons will have to be

placed on line to increase market penetration. Railways share of Non Bulk cargo is only 2 to 3 % of the arisings. Truckscarry even long distance traffic. Non Bulk traffic between metropolitan cities isestimated to be 150 million tonnes per annum. If adequate capacity is created,container traffic in this segment can grow from prevailing 9 million tonnes to 39

million tonnes by 2007. A larger share can be garnered by putting in place multimodal integrated total logistic solutions. Strategic alliance could be formed with road transporters to package highquality transport solutions forless than rake load customer. Thefreight car fleet needs to be modernised andequipped with track friendly

bogies.

Passenger Business

Passenger tariff should be rationalised. Thecross subsidy between Passengerand Freight Traffic should be phased out with some urgency. A clientele is fast


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developing which demands high quality service and is prepared to pay whatever ittakes to provide that service. Rail Transport is claimed to be at least 4 times more energy efficient than

Road. Yet it is not reflected in theRail tariff that for most commodities and for manydistance slabs is in excess of the road tariff. This needs correction. Railways shouldget out from short distance passenger business making room

for the road transport to take over. Such poorly patronised services approximately3200 in number are a drain on Railway finances and consume valuable line capacity.

Railways should disengage from commuter services. Independent SuburbanRailway Authorities with equity participation by Railways, State Governments andlocal bodies should be set up with full responsibility for operation, maintenance,

fixing tariff and raising resources.

Workshops

RailwayProduction Units should be formed into autonomous Corporations. Indian Railways have around50 maintenance workshops with excellentindustrial structures, machinery and plant and covered space backed by a team ofcompetent supervisors and artisans. These facilities are not fully utilised. Railwaysshouldexplore the possibility of leasing out these assets on wet or dry lease terms.

Railway Projects

Over the years the Railways have accumulated alarge shelf of projects. Many of these (such as 74 Gauge Conversion Projects with

throw forward of Rs 8500 Crores and 81 New Line Projects with throw forward of Rs19,000 Crores) would never get completed yet continue to bleed the resources of

Railways through nominal allocations. A committee of experts should review the pending projects for traffic

justification and economic viability. In the interim these should be put on the backburner. Projects aimed atexpanding system capacity, quality of service and customer

focus should receive priority.

Organisational Issues

A number of learned consultants and expert groups have examined this aspect andsuggested wide ranging structural reforms. We need to proceed with caution. The strengthof Railways lies in its clear cut chain of command in operational matters. That should not beinterfered with. Following issues deserve consideration

Policy making, regulatory functions and business operations need to beseparated. The present management structure comprising proliferation of departmentsbeset with conflict of objectives and a decision making level far removed from thearea of operations is not amenable to quick and customer friendly responses. Theexisting departments could be consolidated into3 or 4 departments. Mono disciplinary hierarchy should be replaced by multi disciplinary


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structure integrated on business lines. Railways should disengage from non core activities. Pending final exit theseshould be separated from business operations.

Concluding Remarks

In conclusion we have to acknowledge the contribution of the Indian Railways in

supporting the national economy right through. Despite plummeting budgetary support,

traffic demands were fulfilled through modernisation of assets and induction of

appropriate technology.

In recent years the Railways are faced with an operational and financial crisis. Bold

initiatives to meet the challenge are needed. We are aware that to meet the challenge the

Railways have to reform. Railways have to restructure and have to even go through the

painful process of rightsizing. Yet the Railway community is hopeful that the support and

political will displayed in case of Road sector will visit the Railways as well, so that the

Railways do not wither away for want of investments.The present happenings are just awake up call. There is no need for panic or knee jerk

reactions. Reforms and restructuring are inevitable. Yet while implementing these we need

to take care that the baby is not thrown out with the bath water.

Choice of Traction - Options before the Railways

General:

Terms of reference of the Committee are fairly comprehensive and a bit difficult to beaddressed in a compressed time span.A Preliminary Report may be preferable.

Both sides have presented a very strong case with regard to the choice of traction, takingup uncompromising stands. There is an emotional undercurrent bordering on religious

fervor, which renders objective assessment somewhat difficult.

Many views are based upon impressions. These impressions will need to be replaced byfacts.Landmines of incomplete information and data torn out of context will have to be

negotiated.

There is an impression thatmodernization of traction from Steam to Electric is akin tothe natural process of evolution from monkey to man. This needs to be replaced by ascientific evaluation Similarly depleting fossil fuel resources need to be viewed in thecontext of the overall energy matrix and not in isolation. Railways consume 1.7% of

Diesel and 1.8% of electric power for Traction purposes.Availability of energy bothDiesel and Electric, as such, is not likely to be the limiting condition in choice of

traction. The matrix would need to be determined by what makes sound economic

sense.

In the post independence resurgence of Indian Railways, both forms of Traction, Dieseland Electric, have played a significant role. The Committee at this juncture does not


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have a clean slate on which to recommend uniform adoption of a particular traction.These need to coexist and develop further as per techno economic considerations and

the requirements of traffic.

In the initial years electrification was progressed on a rational basis after dueexamination of the technical, operational and economic parameters. Subsequently,however, the exercise witnessed major dilution, giving up all norms of break even,

traffic support and financial justification. Nebulous arguments such as cleaning of theroute, terminal to terminal wiring, through running with electric traction were presented.

Electrification of Sidings and Yards was taken up in a big way.

The Committee are expected to carry out a comparative financial evaluation of bothforms of Traction, covering Capital Costs, Line Haul Costs along with the operatingcapability to recommend the most pragmatic way forward. Certain distortions have creptinto the manner in which some of Statistical data needed for these evaluations have been

compiled. While it is not expected of the Committee to rewrite the Annual StatisticalStatements of the Government, it would be necessary to identify clearly the nature andextent of the distortions and the manner in which these could be eliminated in future

statistical compilations. In any case, the Committee in their internal assessments shouldmake use of the corrected data and not solely rely upon the published statistics.

Needless to emphasize the recommendations will have to consider the fact that withprogressive extension of electrification,Diesel Locomotives have been relegated tobranch lines and single line sections with inferior signaling and track structure.Operations in such environment are unlikely to deliver the full potential of the assetutilization in respect of Diesel Locomotives. For evaluating the comparative operating

capabilities and economic viability, it would be desirable to induct a few modern 4000Horse Power Diesel Locomotive in heavy duty high density routes under the wire.

No doubt Electrification has advanced substantially. This by itself does not resolve theissues relating to the choice of traction for Indian Railways. Forsustaining thisinfrastructure, continuous inputs by way of replacement of contact wire, catenaries,

insulators, transformers and circuit breakers along with up gradation of sub-stationswould be needed. The financial burden is further enhanced by a large number of sectionsdelivering negative rate of return. Option of roll back wherever financially justified will

need to be considered in the backdrop of this growing expenditure.

The current rhetoric ofcleaning of the Section and extending wiring from end to endcovering all Sidings and Yards will have to give way to a more practical and financiallyviable approach.

There is an impression that institution of CORE in order to sustain itself, may havebeen instrumental in accelerated implementation of electrification even without trafficsupport and financial justification.Perhaps the civil contactors lobby may also have

spurred it on. These are serious issues on which the Committee needs to take a view.

Indian Railways today are at the crossroads. The way forward for survival hasnecessarily to be based upon financial prudence, conservative investment decisions anda sharp focus on core business. In this context, the luxury of supporting two departments


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for Rolling Stock maintenance and operation needs an urgent review. The duplication ofinfrastructure facilities, machinery and plant, manpower and inventory are placing aheavy financial burden on the Railways. This apart from internecine differences is notconducive for smooth management of operations. Setting up of a unified department of

Rolling Stock Maintenance and Operations at all levels covering Railway Board,Workshops and Open Line Depots will result in substantial economies and efficiency inoperation.

Operations:

1. There is a viewpoint that the electrification clutters up the tracksides, yards andpassenger complexes with masts and wires. With restricted elbow and headroom, craneoperation for loading and unloading of consignments isnot possible. In case ofaccidents,restoration operations are rendered difficult on account of obstruction

presented by the catenaries, contact wires and the traction masts. Operationally, as well,

double stack carriage of containers as is prevalent in the U.S.A., is not possible on theIndian Railways even on tunnel free routes due to the limited clearance imposed by thecontact wires. Similarly,flexibility in roll on roll off operations is alsoseverely limitedon electrified sections.

Overhead equipment and power grids bring additional elements of unreliability intothe system.Electrified sections are extremely vulnerable to enemy action, vandalism andadverse weather conditions.

End to end running that has been the hallmark of Indian Railways operations since1980,has been obstructedby a mixture of electrified and non-electrified territories.

Operation has been slowed down with frequent change of traction andrequirement oflocomotives for both Diesel and Electric Traction have reflected an increase.Placement and withdrawal of rakes from sidings that was possible with train engine itselfin case of Diesel Traction is not always practicable with A.C. Traction. Wiring of Sidingsand Yards has considerably enhanced the financial burden due to electrification. In arecent case on the Central Railway by rationalization, the links which involve amongstothers running of Diesel Locomotives under the wires, as many as 17 Locomotives with a

capital cost of Rs.70 crores was saved by permitting a comprehensive diesel link.

It has been argued thatdiscounting the inputs from modernization of signaling,replacement of vacuum braked Rolling Stock by air braked Rolling Stock and

replacement of fabricated bogies by cast steel bogies, electrification per se has notcontributed to any significant improvement in sectional capacity. In factthe systemreliability has been adversely affected due to the injection of additional ingredients inthe infrastructure in the shape of contact wire, catenaries, substation and StateElectricity Boards brought in by the 'track in the sky' The Railways in the best of timesare struggling to provide maintenance blocks for track maintenance, have now tocontend with the traffic blocks for OHE maintenance. An integrated block in mostsituations remains a distant dream. In any case when breakdowns occur, the Track in

the Sky and the Track on the Ground disrupt operations separately.

In many instancesoperating flexibility gets severely limitedon account of restrictions

placed on a number of trains that can occupy a particular section arising from


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considerations of sub-stations capacity. In multiple operations, restrictions are placed onthe maximum permissible variation in wheel diameter of the locomotives. The facility ofquick redeployment of the Diesel Locomotives fleet to suit the surges in operation is

rarely possible in Electric Traction.

The Committee needs to take a view on these observations of the Traffic Officers in thefield.

Energy Scenario

Against a total demand of 480 billion kwh the actual availability in the country is 451giving a shortfall of 29 billion kwh reflecting a shortage of 24.8%.Railway ElectricTraction consumes 7.4 billion kwh contributing to nearly 25% of the shortage. Thisshortage is partially made good by Diesel Generators in domestic circuit and in lightindustrial establishments. The large part of the shortfall results in irreversible loss of

production. It has been agreed that the increasing requirement of electrical power forRailway Traction may worsen the situation.

The power tariff is a matter of concern. The State Electricity Boards treat Railways as amilch cow and place heavy financial burden through sudden spurts in tariff. In order tocombat the levying of excessive power tariff by the State Electricity Boards, there is amove to draw power directly from the NTPC feeders. However, enormous costs areinvolved in linking the connecting transmission lines and we may well end up throwing

good money after bad. We need to tread carefully.

Further, the cost of electrical energy has increased at a pace faster than the cost of

Diesel. Mughalsarai-Kanpur Electrification was justified on a power tariff of 7 Paisefrom the Rihand Dam authorities. Today, the unit cost is Rs.4.39. In the same period, theDiesel costs have increased from 64 Paise per litre to Rs.17.00 in 2001-02. In otherwords,against 26 times increase in Diesel cost, Electric Power has gone up 63 times

between 1963 and 2001.

While deciding upon the mix of traction on the Indian Railways, we have to appreciatethat both forms of energy are vital for development of the national economy. Railwaysconsume 1.7% of POL products and 1.8% of the national power generation. Sectors suchas Road Transport, Aviation, Coastal Shipping, International Shipping and InlandWaterways both for Civil and Defense Services are totally dependant upon the POL

products. Electrification of these services is not technically feasible.If we were lookingfor a scenario wherein the Fossil Fuels totally disappear, there would be no economy

left, domestic or global for apportioning to the two energy sources.

In practical terms, we have to think of an energy mix that is in the national interest. Itmakes poor economic sense to selectively use electrification on the Railways and theshortfall in the Electric Power Sector being compensated by inefficient diesel generatorsand setting up POL based Power Plants. Overall 1.7% of the total POL consumption inthe country is allocated to the Railways. Given the efficient use of the Fossil Fuel by the

Railways, a larger share of Diesel Traction in movement of traffic would substantially

bridge the shortfall in Electrical Power and improve its availability for the Industrial

and Agricultural sectors. Government is planning massive inputs (Rs 54,000 Crores in


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the Phase I) for the expansion of the road network with commensurate increase in POLconsumption.In this scenario despite larger share of Diesel traction, the consumption

of POL products on the Railways in percentage terms may not reflect any increase

Fuel Efficiency

The energy consumption in the two modes of traction for moving 1000 GTKM are asunder:

Amount Kcal

Diesel Electric Diesel Electric

Passenger Traffic 4.82 liters 20.6 kwh 42252 66892

Freight Traffic 2.96 liters 8.28 kwh 25948 26887

The figures are self-explanatory.

Source: The Annual Statistical Statement of the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry ofPower.

Load Hauling Capacity

Diesel Traction was ushered into the Indian Railways in the year 1957 with the import of100 WDM1 Locomotives followed by 100 WDM2 Locomotives in 1960 and setting up ofmanufacturing facilities in DLW in 1962. It is unfortunate that Indian Railways persistedwith this design with only minor improvements/up gradations till the year 2000. Now,

State of Art 4000 H.P. AC/AC locomotives have been imported with transfer oftechnology. These Locomotives, based in Hubli Diesel Shed, are now working only on alimited circuit for moving Iron Ore. The full operating capabilities of these Locomotivescan only be realised if these are tried out in high density Coal, Steel and Cementcircuits.. It does not make any sense in comparing 2600/3100 H.P. first generation Diesel

Locomotives with modern 6000 H.P. ABB Electric Locos. The comparison should bemade with the 4,000 H.P. General Motor Diesel Locomotives. The superior performancecan be seen from the table below:

Diesel Diesel Electric Electric

(3100 HP) (4000 HP) (4000 HP) (6000 HP)

Adhesion 0.36 0.42 0.31 0.37

Starting Tractive 40.5 t 53 t 38 t 47 t

1 in 100 2750 t 3655 t 2200 t 3205 t

1 in 150 3705 t 4840 t 3150 t 4250 t

While making comparative evaluation of load hauling capabilities of Diesel and A.C.Electric Locomotives, it has to be borne in mind that unlike the A.C. Locomotives, theDiesel Locomotives are a constant Horse Power Machine. In other words, in aparticular throttle position, the Diesel Locomotive delivers a fixed amount of torque

and consequently a fixed Horse Power. It would consistently deliver 4,000 HorsePower in the 8th notch position. In sharp contrast, the maximum Horse Power of 6,000


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in an A.C. Electric Locomotive is a combination of the maximum permissible voltage

and the maximum permissible current that is delivered only in one particularcombination of trainload and operating speed. On account of this basic difference incharacteristics, a 4,000 Horse Power Diesel Locomotive is able to start and haul a loadof 4840 ton at a 150 gradient against 4250 ton only by the 6000 Horse Power A.C.

Electric Locomotive. Incomplete comprehension of this situation often results inerroneous expectations of operating capabilities.

Line Haul Costs

There is a viewpoint that computation of line haul costs of the two modes of tractionsuffer from certain infirmities.

There is a perception that Capital Cost of Electrification has not been properlyreflectedin various financial evaluations, including computation of rate ofreturn. It is argued that cost of Power Plant, cost of transmission to the RailwaySubstation, cost of Sub-station, cost of OHE, cost of catenary, contact wire,insulators and other paraphernalia, apart from the cost of locomotive andelectric loco shed, should enter into reckoning. It is difficult to accept that thiscapital cost will be comparable for both Diesel and Electric Traction. As per oneassessment, the capital cost of Diesel Traction for locomotive has been placed at

Rs.3.66 crores against Rs.49.91 crores for Electric Traction. These are stunningfigures, may even have an element of exaggeration, yet need to be looked at

closely. In many casesthe capital cost of Electrification has been retained with CORE

and not transferred to Zonal Railways resulting in improved financialperformance than what is obtaining. For instance, in the year ending March2001, CORE has a capital at charge of Rs.4148 crores. This does not make senseand should have been allocated to the concerned Zonal Railway for reflection inthe operating ratio.

The investments on Electrification are subjected to an interest rate of 7% only.This is not realistic.

The capital at charge does not include out-station depots. The distribution of IRFC lease charges to the two forms of Traction is made on

an ad hoc basis of locomotive holdings, instead of in proportion of theinvestments made. For instance, the actual expenditure on manufacture of A.C.


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locos from 1987 to 2000 is Rs.4698 Crores and Diesel Locomotives Rs.2000Crores, but actual bookings under the IRFC lease charges have been Rs.485Crores for Diesel Traction and Rs.360 Crores for A.C. Traction. This needscorrection.

The common facilities such as accident relief and other breakdown services arecharged entirely to Diesel Traction.

Shunting locomotives that cater for all the services,are charged exclusively toDiesel Traction. Similar distortions exist in respect of running staff expenditureallocations.

The full cost of OHE maintenance is not reflected. In a number of cases thesehave been transferred to special repairs pertaining to natural calamities. Theseneed to be looked at.

Overall, the Committee would be well advised not to rely entirely upon the published

statistics, as in a number of cases, these are based upon wrong assumptions. A proper

audit should be conducted by the Committee to separate facts from impressions. Infact, studies by the Committee may result in long-term elimination of such distortions.

The line haul costs in Rs. per 1000 GTKM as these are compiled now are as under:

Diesel Traction Electric Traction

Freight Passenger Freight Passenger

76.49 129.78 75.86 137.20

Reliability

Electrification, apart from the capital cost, also brings in unreliability. It is well knownthat reliability of equipment depends upon the number of components that go into itsoperations. With the addition of sub-stations, overhead equipment, transmission lines,and the State Electricity Boards, the unreliability factor of the system gets magnified.Vulnerability to sabotage and enemy action is one of its principal weaknesses. Ability towithstand onslaughts of weather is also rather poor

Suggested Case Studies for the Committee.

In order to assess the operating capability and economic viability of the two modes of

Traction in actual field conditions, it may be desirable to conduct a pilot study on theBisrampur Sabarmati Coal Circuit. This Section hadadopted end-to-end running withintensively examined Rolling Stock hauled by WDM2 Diesel Locomotives, from 1976

to 1994. By judicious use of fresh powers from New Katni Diesel Shed and Carriage &Wagon examination under empty condition, it was possible to bypass the New Katni and

all subsequent yards till destination in the loaded direction. Despite Katni-Bina andBhopal-Ujjain being on single line, a very high level of rake utilisation was achieved.Subsequently, the performance improved further with the doubling of Katni- Bina Sectionand replacement of Vacuum Brake Stock by Air Brake Stock equipped with Cast Steel

Bogies. The Committee would need to compare the performance achieved with DieselTraction in those years with the present performance with A.C. Traction. Rakeutilisation, turn rounds, number of locos deployed will need to be compared.A few 4000


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hp WDG4 locomotives based in New Katni shed could be injected in this circuit for

assessing the comparative performance.

The above observations are made in the context ofa sharp decline in the Rate of Returninitially projected and actually achieved. The figures for some of the sections are:

ROR

Projected Actual

Bina - New Katni 25% Negative

Tughlakabad-Jhansi 22% 7%

Jhansi-Itarsi 24% 9%

Balharshah-Vijayawada 41% 2%

Delhi - Ambala 14.5% - 10.3%

Indore - Ujjain 16% -74%

The Comptroller and the Auditor General of India in his report of December 1999 hascommented thatRailways spent Rs 110 Crores on AC Traction for moving 11.8 btkm on

Bina New Katni. The expenditure would have been limited to Rs 69 Crores had Diesel

Traction been employed.

Another study that may be of interest would be the operating performance of CentralRailway before it was electrified. In the early 80'sdespite the severe constraint of singleline working on New Katni-Bina and Itarsi-Balharshah Section, predominance of

Vacuum Brake Stock, a locomotive utilisation of around 20,000 Net Tonne Kilometer

per Engine hour was achieved with 2400 hp WDM2 locomotives. We need to comparethis with the present performance with A.C. locomotives of 4000 to 6000 hp.

It may also be interesting to inject a few Diesel Locomotives of 4000 Horse Power onthe KK Line based in the Waltair Diesel Shed. This would enable a comparativeevaluation of the operating capabilities of the two modes of Traction on this heavy dutyseverely graded section.

Concluding Remarks.

There is no black or white in the context of a pragmatic traction policy for the Indian

Railways. It is prudent to accept the shades of gray. We do not have the benefit ofstarting from a clean slate. The electrification has progressed up to a certain point andwe have to chart a practical course for the future.

Electric traction is most suited for busy suburban sections, Metro Rail andLight Rail Transit systems on urban conglomerates with frequent stops/starts.Main focus of attention of Electrification should be aimed towards strengtheningand improving reliability of these services.

Priority should be assigned toconversion from D.C. to A.C. Traction in Bombaysuburban area, electrification of Calcutta Circular Railway and extension ofthe Calcutta Metro from Tollygunge to Garia and otherLight Rail Transit

systems in urban areas.


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All Electrification Projects over the main line/branch lines of the IndianRailways thatdo not fulfill the norms for break even and Rate of Return areimmediately frozen.

End to end running of Freight trains should be restoredwherever necessarybyrunning diesel locomotives under the wires.

In compilation of statistics of line haul costs certain distortions have crept in. TheCommittee may evolve recommendations for rectifying these distortions.

The final view on choice of traction necessarily has to be based upon what theRailways can afford both as initial cost as well as cost of sustaining a particularform of traction. The requirements of traffic have to be kept in sharp focus.

In electrified sections where the expected rate of return is not achieved, Diesellocomotives should progressively be injectedand the section in course of time isde-energized. The sub-station equipments should be moved elsewhere and theother materials such as traction masts, contact wire, catenary, insulators be keptin a bank for use on other sections.

The policy concerning electrification of sidings, yards and maintenancecomplexes should be reviewed.

The Central Organisation for Railway Electrification should be wound up andthe activities as may remain, should be transferred to the concerned General

Manager/Chief Administrative Officer (Construction). The Committee may alsoexamine the financial implications of the Indian Railways supporting andsustaining two departments for maintenance and operation of Rolling Stock.Aunified Rolling Stock Department would result in substantial economies apart

from eliminating internecine differences.

ACTION PLAN FOR RAILWAYS

Indian Railways are at the crossroads. They have an unfinished agenda of expanding systemcapacity, improving quality of service and ensuring safety in operation. These requiremassive investments that are difficult to come by. Budgetary support has dwindled from 75%in the 5th Plan to 18% and generations of internal resources have declined sharply due tomisadventures in investment decisions. The railways are not able to contribute to thedepreciation Reserve fund for asset replacements and have even deferred payment ofdividends to the general Revenues. To put it mildly they are in a financial mess. In order toget out of this situation the Railways need to launch a bold and imaginative action Plan,

principle features of which are outlined hereunder:

1. Modernisation is the plank on which the strategy for expanding transport capacity andimproving quality service along with safety in operation, should primarily be placed.

2. While executing Projects, the Planners and Managers should not be deterred by initialpaucity of resources and proceed with the task of building up the infrastructure as perthe desired specifications. If the investments fall short of the needs of the Project,

progress could be adjusted, but the expediency of diluting the specifications should not


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be resorted to.

3. Accelerate adoption and develop indigenous manufacturing capability of Fuel/Energyefficient High Horse Power ac Electric and Diesel Electric Locomotives.

4. A lean well muscled fleet of high productivity freight stock should be built up. Theexisting complement of vacuum brake stock should be phased out rapidly. Followingmeasures need to be taken in this regard :

Freight Cars

Induct Track friendly Self Steering Bogie Composite Brake Blocks Truck Mounted Brakes UIC Stock (BOX, BCX) is 3 to 4 times more prone to accidents as compared to

BOXN, BCN Stocks. These along with all Vacuum Brake Stock both FourWheeler and Bogies should be phased out in a compressed time span of three to

five years through condemnation or selective conversion to air brakes. The Vacuum Brake Bogie Stock with residual life of over 15 years may be

equipped with Cast Steel Bogies and Air Brakes. Stop manufacture of new UIC Bogies. C type repairs of unloadable BOX

Wagons should be suspended. BOX Wagons requiring heavy body repairs orreplacement of UIC bogies should be laid aside.

There should be no upward revision of the code life of Freight Stock. In fact, inorder to minimise routine maintenance, ensure reliability in service and safetyin operation, there is a strong case for reducing the active service life of BOX

Wagons to 25 years.

5. Our passenger policy should be pragmatic and non ideological. Fast transit times, highstandards of catering , cleanliness and riding comfort should be provided to aclientele that is prepared to pay for such service.

6. We should concentrate upon inter state and inter city services.

7. We should get out from short distance passenger business making room for the roadtransport to take over. Stopping passenger trains which are a great drag on thesectional capacity should be phased out with a sense of urgency.

8. Cross subsidies from freight to passenger business should be phased out.

9. Passenger services in India in many instances are introduced as populist measurerather than as a well thought out project. Inadequate resources and incomplete

preparations perpetuate poor quality services. It may be desirable to legislate priorapproval of the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance before introducingnew services. This may bring about some objectivity. In the interim, approval of theCommissioner for Railway Safety should be stipulated.

10. The railways should disengage from commuter services. Independent Suburban Railway

Authorities for each Metropolis with equity participation by Railways, State Govt. andlocal bodies should be set up with full responsibility for operations, maintenance, fixing


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tariff and raising resources.

11. From considerations ofSafety and Quality of Service, the Coaching Stock shouldincorporate the following features :

Improve Structural strength and Corrosion Resistance Provide Centre Buffer Coupler with Anti Climbing Feature Incorporate Anti Telescopic Features Improve Fire Resistance of Body and Furnishings Provide UIC Vestibule Provide Emergency Exits Provide Disk Brakes

12. A five year programme for increasing the track loading density from 7.67t/m to 8.25 t/mand eventually to 8.33 t/m should be launched. High productivity freight cars should be

redesigned to permit higher axle loads and resultant higher pay load to tare ratio.

13. The freight trains have to frequently negotiate turn outs resulting in heavy loss of timedue to the crippling speed restrictions. Provision of 1 in 16 and 1 in 20 curved switcheson the high density routes coupled with freight stock equipped with self steering bogieswould materially enhance sectional capacity.

14. The Railways should get out from Catering business. In the first instance a CateringCorporation under the Ministry of Railways should be formed to oversee theseoperations.

15. A Stations Authority of Indian Railways should be constituted to take over maintenanceand upkeep of stations along with provision of all amenities to the passengers, coveringvehicle parking, enquiry, passenger information system, catering, baggage handling,ticketing and the like. This authority will be funded by a fixed percentage of passengerearnings which could be mutually decided with the railways. This measure will protectthe Railways from the present distortions in provision of passenger amenities which arebased on political lobbying rather than sale of tickets.

16. Railways have a well structured method for evaluating projects. Further execution ofGauge Conversion should be taken up only after such detailed evaluation. Routesalready converted should first be made viable by selective elimination of bottlenecks

and objective marketing.

17. Electrification should not be pursued as a logical process of evolution from steam todiesel to electric similar to man from monkey. With modern fuel efficient diesellocomotives, shortage of electric power for other more pressing needs, the ongoingelectrification projects should be reassessed. Priority should be accorded to usheringin modern design of electric locomotives which would make the existing electrifiedroutes viable. Railways may also consider setting up captive power houses for

providing power for traction purposes at affordable tariff.

18. Railway production units should be privatised. In the first instance, these should be

formed into autonomous corporations.


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19. Indian Railways have around fifty maintenance workshops with excellent infrastructureof industrial structures, machinery and plant and covered space backed by a team ofcompetent artisans and supervisors. These facilities are not fully utilised. Railwaysshould launch an aggressive marketing campaign for leasing out these assets on dry orwet lease terms.

20. The security on running trains should be privatised. This would resolve the constantbickering between the State Govt and the Railways in apportionment of blame andresponsibility.. The present system is based more on legal follow up after a crime hastaken place rather than ensuring security of passengers. The effectiveness of

professional security agencies could be enhanced by declaring trains as privatepremises.

21. Resource Mobilisation

In our context the investments required for infrastructure development are so massivethat it is not within the capability of Railways to finance the needs from its own internalresources. Borrowings at commercial rates would lead railways to early bankruptcy.While all efforts to secure private investments should be made, in the short run thereappears no option but for the state to step in and provide budgetary support atreasonable interest rates say 10%. The transport needs are so pressing that thecommunity will have to pay for its development in one form or the other. Governmentintervention appears logical and brooks no delay.

22. Following matrix for resource mobilisation should be aimed at.Internal Generation 40%Bolt & Own Your Wagon Scheme 12%Bonds & ECB 20%Budgetary Support 28%

Total 100%

23. Railways have to think of innovative methods of resource mobilisation. Somesuggestions are:

Commercial exploitation of surplus land and sky space above the stations andother Railway buildings.

Commercial exploitation of right of way for telecom/cable lines. Borrowings from merchant Banking sector at interest rates lower than IRFC Procuring assets through leasing. Leasing out surplus workshop space to Industry under wet or dry lease terms. Leasing out Railway communication network. Disengagement from non core activities such as Manufacturing, Catering, and

Tourism. Management of Stations and Security on trains and stations could alsobe out sourced.

24. A Responsive Management Set up

Implementation of the aforesaid agenda requires a responsive management set up. Thepresent structure comprising proliferation of departments beset with conflict of


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objectives and decision making levels far removed from the area of operations is notamenable to quick and customer friendly responses. Major restructuring is called for. Abeginning could be made by consolidating the departments.

25. A healthy relationship between the Railway Board and the political leadership needs to

be evolved. Areas of policy formulations, executive authority and the rules of businessneed to be redefined.

Proceedings of Seminar On

Meeting Resurgence in Transport Demand

Challenges Before the Railways

Foreword

We are an informal group of friends, who meet periodically over a cup oftea and discuss various issues relating to the transport sector particularlythe Railways. We look at the socio-economic environment and reflect on theway Forward Agenda for the Transport Sector. Evolving recommendationsor the continued well being of the Railways is our passion. Lest we are

branded as a 'WAR Group' (Wise After Retirement), we interact frequently

with the serving officers. In the pages that follow, we have put together theproceedings of a day long brain storming session conducted on the 3rdAugust 2004. Apart from our Members, the participants comprised a galaxyof bright people both serving and retired. They all have one trait incommon, that is to think ahead and look well beyond their nose. In the gettogether, three presentations were made, followed by lively discussionseliciting interesting suggestions and recommendations. These have beencompiled and a summary of recommendations has been appended alongwith these proceedings. We are also fortunate that some of the guests sentwritten communications to follow up their speeches during the Seminar. Icommend these proceedings to you and hope you find these useful.

A.K. BANERJI Secretary -RAILWATCH

List of Participants

GUEST SPEAKERS RAILWATCH

a


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Shri S. DhasarathyFormer Member Mechanical, Rly. Board

Shri M. S. Gujral

Shri Jitendra SondhiWorld Bank Expert

Shri O.P. Tantia

Shri S.C. SenguptaAdvisor, Kolkata Port Trust & Former GM, E. Rly.

Shri P.S. Kapoor

Shri Vinod KumarGM, Metro Rail

Shri S.S. Kapoor

Shri R.R. BhandariGM, S.E. Rly.

Shri Anand Shukla

Shri Deepak KrishanChief Administrative Officer (Constn) E.Rly.

Shri A. K. BanerjiSecretary

Shri Y.P. Gupta

Addl. GM, S.E. Rly.Shri D. N. MathurCME, E.Rly.

Shri P. BhattacharyaCME, S.E. Rly

Shri Shakeel AhmedDivisional Rly. Manager, Kharagpur

Programme

10.30hrs Welcome Address by Shri A.K. Banerji, Secretary,RAILWATCH

10.40hrs Presentation by Shri O.P. Tantia on "Enhancing TransportCapacity and Ensuring Rail Safety through Separation of

Freight & Passenger Corridors"

11.10 hrs Review by Shri S. Dhasarathy

11.25 hrs Discussions & Coffee Service

11.45 hrs Presentation by Shri Jitendra Sondhi on comparisonbetween Chinese & Indian Railways - Lessons for India

12.30 hrs Discussions

13.15 hrs Lunch

14.30 hrs Presentation by Shri A.K. Banerji, SecretaryRAILWATCHon "Management of Freight Operations on IR"

15.00 hrs Review by Shri M.S. Gujral


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15.15 hrs Discussions & Coffee Service

15.30 hrs Open House discussion onRailway Charter

16.30 hrs Conclusion

Address by the Secretary

On behalf ofRailwatch, I accord a warm welcome to all of you. It is our proud privilegethatMr. M.S. Gujral, former Chairman, Railway Board and Coal India, would be

participating in the deliberations. We recall the exciting days when Mr. Gujral assumedthe reins of the Railways in the early 80's and turned the institution around from thebrink of disaster. Railwatch is fortunate to have his continuous counsel and guidance

rom its very inception. We welcome him.

Mr. S. Dhasarathy, former Member Mechanicalhas traveled all the way from Chennaito be with us today to share his experiences and talk of the unfinished agenda that needsto be pursued. We accord him a hearty welcome.

We have with us todayMr. Jitendra Sondhi, World Bank Expert, who has recentlyconcluded his study on the Chinese Railways and would, in his presentation, identify theareas where Indian Railways could emulate the strategies adopted by the Chinese

Railways. We accord him a special welcome.

We welcomeMr. Sunil Sengupta, Advisor, Kolkata Port Trust and look forward to hisinputs on the developments in the shipping business.

We are specially happy to welcome in our midst an impressive galaxy of distinguishedRailway Officers comprisingMr. Vinod Kumar, General Manager Metro, Mr. R.R.Bhandari, General Manager, S.E.Rly. Mr. Y.P. Gupta,Additional General Manager., S.E. Rly, Mr.

Deepak Krishan, Chief Administrative Officer (Constn), E.Rly, Mr. D.N. Mathur, CME, E.Rly,

Mr. P. Bhattacharya, CME, SER andMr. Shakeel Ahmed,Divisional Rly. Manager,Kharagpur. This is an impressive team of administrators and thinkers who have theunique capability of looking well beyond their nose. I accord them a hearty welcome andlook forward to a free and frank exchange of views with them.

Finally, I welcomeMr. O.P. Tantia and our team of Railwatch members who have beenconstantly providing data and inputs for us to conceptualize our agenda.

I take this opportunity to brief you aboutRAILWATCHand its activities.

RAILWATCHis a small group of like minded people registered under the West BengalSocieties Act. We are interested in the continued financial and operational well being ofthe Transport System particularly the Railways. We study the problems and pitfallsacing the transport infrastructure and attempt to evolve pragmatic solutions.

Our methodology consists in study of the significant features of the economic and socialenvironment so that through induction of appropriate technology and marketing

strategies, the objective of expanding systems capacity and quality of service is ensured.


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In the overall exercise, financial viability and safety in operation continue to be ourchief concerns. The objective is to convey these perceptions to those who formulate andimplement policies.

This think tank has been in existence for some time, but was formally christened

RAILWATCHin 1997. We would like to inform you of some of the issues taken up inrecent years. These are:

1. A Paper entitled "Railways at the Cross Roads" - covering Traffic Projections andWay Forward Agenda for the Ninth Plan was submitted to the Member Traffic.Paper was subsequently published.

2. A Presentation entitled "Problems of Calcutta Urban Transport. Identification ofthe projects for meeting the challenges" was made before the then Chief Secretary,Government of West Bengal on the 20th November 1998. A Memorandum was alsosubmitted to the then Minister for Railways. Most of the suggestions have beenaccepted and many of the projects are under implementation.

3. Railwatch presented evidence before the Safety Review Committee on the 20thSeptember 2000. A comprehensive document was submitted thereafter. Many of therecommendations received acceptance from the Committee and were reflected intheir final report.

4. Railwatch presented evidence before the Committee for "Fixing Norms forRailway Electrification Projects" on the 11th July 2001. A comprehensive paperentitled "Choice of Traction - Option before the Railways" was submitted. Some ofthe views were reflected in the final report of the Committee.

5. A Paper on "Strategies for Meeting Transport Demands" was presented before theHon'ble Minister of Railways on the 13th February 2002 at the Platinum JubileeSeminar held at Jamalpur. This paper outlines the way forward agenda for the 10thPlan.

6. Submitted petitions to the Government of India, and Government of West Bengaland interacted with the Media on re-organization of the Indian Railways.

7. A presentation on Interaction between Railways and Industry presented on the 4thApril 2003 in a get-together organized by the Eastern Railway at Fairlie Place.

8. A paper entitled "Future of Freight Cars on the Indian Railways" was presented

by Shri O.P. Tantia in the International Seminar held at Taj Bengal on the 14th andthe 15th May, 2003.

9. Currently, the Railwatch is working on the concept of dedicated Freight Corridorsto deal with the growth in bulk and non-bulk traffic.

10. Railwatch is interacting with the Transport Division of UN ESCAP Office atBangkok for development of the Trans-Asian Railway.

11. Railwatch has developed a concept for Management of Freight Operationsconsequent to fragmentation of Railways.

As we gather here today to fine tune our perceptions on the future of the IndianRailways, it occurs to us that the Railways are a much-studied organization. World


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Bank, Mackenzie's, Rakesh Mohan, Railway Reforms Committee and a host of highprofile consultants have studied the functioning of the Railways and have come out witha plethora of recommendations for improving its performance and financial viability.

Similarly, the working of the Railways is monitored and reviewed by a number of

Parliamentary Committees, such as the Public Accounts Committee, ConventionCommittee, Railways Standing Committee, Steering Committee, to name a few. Inaddition, dozens of Consultative Committees at various levels are breathing down itsneck.

In this context, how do we define the role ofRAILWATCH? Should we be yet anothervoice in the wilderness? Not quite.

We in the Group feel that despite the aforesaid close scrutiny, some of the core issuesthat need to be urgently addressed have gone by default. A lip service is paid to the

Railways' continual role in supporting the national economy, but the matter ends there.We talk of infrastructure and its importance, yet in reality we confine ourselves to powergeneration, roadways, shipping, ports, airports, primary health care and education.

Railways are either ignored or taken for granted. This is an enigma, and we feel that ourGroup in a small way can contribute towards correcting this attitude. We on our part inthe Rail Transport Sector should stop being inward looking and try to respond to thechanging external environment.

Railways need infusion of massive investments that can transform not only the Railwaysystem but also the National economy. Projects aimed at expanding system capacity,improving quality of service, ensuring financial viability and addressing the safetyconcerns, need to be quickly formulated and urgently implemented. Investments neededor such projects are unfortunately difficult to come by and the Railways are asked to

raise internal resources for development.

Quite often a substantial portion of the meager resources that are finally made availableis frittered away in populist projects aimed at dispensing political favors. Railwatch isalso acutely aware that the Railways cannot forever depend upon budgetary supporteither.

What then is the way forward? There are no easy answers but this situation needs to becorrected.

In this get together today we look for answers to some of these intractable issues.Hopefully some of the solutions are contained in presentations and discussions that

ollow.

In the proceedings for the day we have three presentations. The first presentation byMr.O. P Tantia, PresidentRAILWATCH, traces the historical growth of Freight Traffic onthe Indian Railways and sketches the outline of the future strategy covering amongstothers the concept of separate Freight Corridors, Commodity Specific Wagons. Higheraxle loads, Liberalized moving Dimensions, strategy for reducing cost of freighttransportation and user friendly commercial rules and procedures.

The next paper is byMr. Sondhi a World Bank expert who takes us on a comparativeperformance review and strategies adopted by Chinese and Indian Railways. The role of

Network expansion on creating transport capacity is highlighted.


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I present the last paper, which develops a concept authored byMr. MS Gujral. Thistalks of a strategy to cope with the adverse effect of fragmentation of the Railways onFreight Operations.

With these thoughts, I welcome you once again to this gathering.

Thank you for your attention.

Enhancing Transport Capacity and Ensuring Rail Safety throughSeperation of Freight & Passenger

Corridors by O. P. Tantia and Ashutosh Kumar BanerjiforRAILWATCH

Introduction

The Indian economy has entered the tenth plan with an expectation of 5% to 7% annualgrowth in the GDP and consequently 6% to 8% growth in the transport sector. Theseexpectations place heavy demands on the already saturated road and rail transportsystem which coupled with the inadequacies in the power sector could be a majorconstraint in the realisation of the projected economic growth.

Strategies for capacity generation along with the technological inputs, matchinginvestments and the institutional framework needed by the Railways are issues that needto be addressed.

Growth of Freight Traffic

The growth of Freight Traffic on the Indian Railways since launching of the 5 Year Planencompasses two distinct phases. The first phase comprising 30 years from 1950 to 1980witnessed a programme of rehabilitation of dilapidated assets, ushering in of Diesel and

Electric Traction, modernization of signalling system along with replacement of 4Wheeler Stock by Bogie Stock and progressive induction of Centre Buffer Couplers inreplacement of Screw Couplings and Side Buffers.

In this phase, the Railways tried to move all kinds of traffic bulk, non-bulk and piece-meal in a wide basket of commodities through a single amorphous infrastructure aidedby a network of marshalling yards and on line maintenance depots. While the Railwaysby and large fulfilled the traffic demands, they could do full justice neither to the piece-

meal nor to the bulk traffic. The operating performance was beset with high turn rounds,transit detentions and road side detachments of rolling stock. Mixture of rolling stockequipped with Centre Buffer Couplers, Screw Couplings and transition devices broughtuntold misery to both the maintenance and the operating personnel.

The 2nd phase was characterized by a set of significant policy initiatives. Theperformance of Bogie Wagons of UIC design equipped with Roller Bearings was besetwith frequent instances of Bogie cracks and Roller Bearing failures. In order to rectifythis deficiency in 1980, the Indian Railways took a decision to adopt Cast Steel Bogiesand Cartridge Bearings, which could meet the rigors of service without such failures.

Induction of this design of wagon designated as N Stock, along with replacement of

Vacuum Brakes by Air Brakes brought about a sea change in the operating capability ofthe Indian Railways.


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Concurrent with modernization of Freight Cars the concept of end to end running ofFreight Trains was introduced in the eighties. Block rakes ran through from loading

point to the unloading destination bypassing intermediate yards mostly without changeof motive power.

Modernization of Freight Cars and the related operating innovations delivered thedesired result. In the last two decades of the 20th century a substantial increase from196 million tonne to 474 million tonne in originating loading and from 148 BTKM to317 BTKM in transport output was achieved.

Present Scenario

The 10th Plan has got off to a flying start logging an increment of 25.5 million tonneand 17 BTKM in transport output in the very first year. The performance in the second

year of the 10th Plan has been equally impressive. It is expected that the year 2003-04would witness an increment of 38 million tonne in originating loading and 24 BTKM intransport output.

The traffic matrix of the Indian Railways basically comprises the following :

Bulk Transport of heavy haul Freight Traffic

Containerised Transport of Non Bulk and piece meal Traffic

Inter City and long distance Mail Express Trains

Sectional stopping Passenger Trains

Commuter Services on the Suburban Sections

Railways efforts over the years to build a unified infrastructure to cater for thesedivergent operating requirements, despite substantial investments, have failed to deliverboth in terms of system capacity as well as the quality of service and safety inoperations. We have ended up by setting up an amorphous system, that fulfils the needsof none. Perhaps heavy haul freight services should operate on corridors separate fromast passenger and the premium container services. The infrastructure requirements of

the two streams particularly relating to signal spacing, axle load limitations and sidinglengths are totally different.

The Railways are now at a critical juncture and for them to sustain the growth andcontinue to be an effective instrument in lending impetus to the national economy, they

need to put in place two sets of infrastructure within one system, tailored separately fortransport of bulk and non bulk traffic. The mistake of the first 30 years of developing aunified infrastructure for dealing with both segments of traffic, possibly aimed atachieving a more intensive utilisation of assets, should not be repeated. The conflictingmatrix of fast passenger services and heavy haul freight trains operating on the sameinfrastructure also needs to be resolved. The results would be rewarding if lessons werelearnt from this experience and investment decisions focussed upon this road map.

Critical Issues

The way forward Agenda for the Indian Railways aimed at expanding system capacity,

improving quality of service, ensuring safety in operation, securing market penetrationand achieving financial viability, needs to address, amongst others, the following issues


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:

High tariff of Railway Freight Transport

Poor productivity of our Wagons

Augmentation of transport capacity through Network Expansion

Separation of Corridors for operation of heavy haul Freight and high speedPassenger and Intermodal services

Ensuring safety in operations

Review of Commercial Procedures and customer interface

Freight Tariff, Wagon Productivity and Moving Dimensions

Rail Transport is atleast 4 times more energy efficient than road transport and the

Railway land use is 6.5 times more efficient. Yet, it is not reflected in the Rail tariff thator most commodities and for many distant slabs is in excess of the road tariff. Acomparative evaluation of freight tariff in India and U.S.A. conducted by Mr. David

Burns, a former World Bank Consultant and presented in his paper in a Seminar inKolkata on the 14th and the 15th May 2003, brings out interesting facts. According tothis paper in respect of bulk commodities such as Coal, Iron Ore, Cement, Food Grain,Fertilizers, when corrected for the purchasing power parity, freight charged in India issubstantially higher than the tariff charged by the U.S. railroads.

This is ascribable to relatively low productivity of our Freight Cars, arising from arather restrictive maximum moving dimension adopted by the Indian Railways. We have

not taken full advantage of our wide gauge of 1676 mm. Other railroad systems withnarrower gauges pack in a lot more cubic content and weight of the consignment in theirreight wagons. A large wheel diameter of 1000 mm and a coupling height of 1105 mm

have also not helped matters. Reducing these to 840 mm and 850 mm respectively wouldpermit substantial increase in cubic content and carrying capacity of wagons.Concurrently, taking advantage of the higher volume of consignments that would be

possible to accommodate in the Freight Car, the axle loads could be increased from theprevailing 20 tons to 30 tons.

The increase in axle loads along with improved pay load to tare ratio (20 ton plus 100ton ay load) would substantially bring down the cost of transportation and would fall inline with those prevailing in U.S.A., Brazil, Australia and other heavy haul rail roadsystems.

It may not be possible to effect some of these improvements in the existing net workimmediately. An independent network of Freight Corridors with liberalized movingdimensions, and new series of Freight Cars eliminating the existing constraints, wouldneed to be constructed to render this enhanced productivity possible.

Increasing System Capacity through Network Expansion

For increasing system capacity, network expansion is one of the options yet to beseriously exercised by the Indian Railways. On the road sector, the network has

witnessed an increase from 4 lakh km at the time of Independence to around 32 lakh km.now. It continues to grow at a fast pace, both quantitatively as well as qualitatively. This


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growth has delivered the expected results and the road sector is now poised for a vastlyimproved service delivery in the coming years.

In sharp contrast, the Railways network has stagnated. Its nobody's case that RoadTransport should not develop, but the withholding of the investments in network

expansion of the Railways is rather disquieting. A review of the growth of infrastructureand the transport output delivered by the Railways in the last 50 years would indicatethat increase of mere 17% in the Network, coupled with modernization of tractionsystems, rolling stock, signaling and permanent way, has delivered a growth of over800% in Freight and 600% in Passenger Traffic. With such outstanding performanceand cost benefit matrix, the reasons for withholding investments on expansion of Railnetwork is rather difficult to comprehend. Further quantum jump in system capacity asis required for meeting future challenges in transport demand would need urgentnetwork expansion.

Dedicated Freight Corridor

The high density network on the Indian Railways connecting the metropolitan cities ofKolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi is grossly saturated. In fact, nearly 60% of theline capacity is consumed by passenger traffic, which is likely to grow at the rate of 3%

per annum according to a conservative estimate. In respect of the freight traffic the taskis even more challenging. According to the Planning Commission, the GDP during the10th Plan is expected to grow at the rate of 5 to 7%. This would require a growth of 6 to8% in the transport section, basically to be shared by the Roads and Railways. In fact,the first two years of the 10th Plan has already confirmed the realization of theseexpectations. The existing system cannot bear this pressure without the inevitablerepercussions on the ability of the Railways to move freight traffic and safety in

operations. The usual expedient of splitting block sections, signaling improvements,third line in patches and other line capacity works are not likely to effectively bridge thecapacity shortfall.

Now that the system has reached saturation, for meeting the projected traffic demandsboth in respect of freight and passenger, there seems to be no option, but to expand thenetwork. Given the background of the last 53 years, the expansion of system capacity inuture should follow a strategy that would ensure segregation of streams of heavy trafficrom high speed passenger services. In other words, we should build separate corridorsor the heavy haul freight traffic. These corridors should permit higher axle load of 30

tonne with special purpose vehicles designed for block movement of Cement, Food

grains, Coal, Iron Ore, Limestone, Fertilizers and other bulk commodities. This corridorshould also be capable of movement of Double Stack Containers and should haveappropriate connectivity with the ports, particularly Mundra, Kandla, Pipavav, Goa,Tuticorin, Chennai, Haldia and Kolkata. Once this concept of separating the heavyreight corridor from the high density route is accepted, it would be possible to develop

the alignment of the freight corridor connecting points of generation with areas ofconsumption. The corridor would be initially single line signaled for both directionswith bridges and formation designed for future doubling.

Construction of such a corridor while taking away the loaded stream of traffic from theexisting net work will release section capacity for speeding up movement of Mail

Express Trains and would also cater to the requirement of additional passengercarrying trains in the future. The safety concerns of the Railways would also be


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concurrently addressed with this approach.

The dedicated Freight Corridor would comprise network connecting points of heavytraffic generation with areas of consumption namely Collieries to Power Houses and

Iron Ore Mines to Steel Plants. Suitable connectivity with the existing network to

acilitate gathering of originating traffic and delivery to consumption points would beprovided. A minimum number of exchange yards should be built into the system toenable consolidation and splitting of loads to conform to the train lengths and looplengths of the new and the existing network. The Corridor would permit a maximumoperating speed of 100 kmph and a ruling gradient not steeper than 1 in 100. Thetraction would be multiple units 15 of modern ac/ac Diesel Electric Locomotives of 4000to 6000 Horse Powers. The other features of this Corridor would be

Liberalized moving dimensions permitting operation of double stack containers

Wagons with Wheel diameter not exceeding 840 mm

Coupling height not exceeding 851 mm

Modern Cab signaling with communication system between Driver/Guard andDriver/Control

Suitable track structure with 68.5 Kg. AAR or 71 Kg. UIC 90 UTS Rails laid on PreStressed Concrete Sleepers with Sleeper density of 1660 Sleeper per km.

1500 m loops permitting train lengths of 120 Cars and 14,400 tonne trailing loads

The Freight Corridors will bypass urban conglomerates and shall be free of anypassenger or commuter services

The operating requirements as well as the facilities needed for heavy haul freight trainsand high speed passenger services can at times be contradictory. By taking away theheavy Goods Trains from the existing network, the facilities can be developed which aremore suited for passenger services. In fact, this is the key to ensuring safety inoperations. The safety has to be built into the system, the requirements of which arespecific to the type of traffic viz. Freight or passenger. A common infrastructure systemwould always be at best a compromise and beset with lack of reliability.

Suggested Freight Corridors

While identification of the specific corridors could be the subject matter of a detailed

survey, the basic matrix of this network could comprise

Connecting Collieries in Eastern and Central India with Power Houses in U.P.,Punjab, Gujrat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra

Connecting Iron Ore mines with Steel Plants such as Bailadilla-Dallirahjara-Bhilailink and to ports for export

Connecting Talcher mines with Power houses in Karnataka

Connecting ports of western India with a focal point in North India for movement ofdouble stack container traffic

A preliminary assessment would indicate that a network of around 9,000 km would


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effectively tackle the prevailing constraints relating to capacity, productivity and cost oftransportation. Concurrently by separating heavy haul freight and high speed passengertraffic, the safety concerns of the Railways would also be comprehensively addressed.The project can be implemented in a time frame of 3 to 5 years with an investment ofabout Rs.45,000 Crores. The government have committed Rs.54,000 Crores on

improvement of highway network and another Rs.60,000 Crores on Gramin SadakYojana and Rs.12,000 crores on Sagar Mala for improving the infrastructure of major

ports. The investments of new Freight Corridors on the Railways will synergize with theaforesaid investments and will have tremendous impact on the economy particularly inexport promotion and reducing cost of Power generation.

Concluding Remarks

Segregation of heavy haul Freight Traffic and high speed Passenger Traffic, is the onlyrational and economically viable method of enhancing transport capacity consistentwith Railway's current concern for safety. Instead of frittering away the resources on

meaningless line capacity works such as patch doubling, third line construction,intermediate block signaling etc., which deliver only marginal increase in capacity, the17 time has come to invest in a focused manner, so that over a period of time the heavyhaul freight traffic is segregated from inter city passenger and commuter services. Theinvestments involved are affordable and can be implemented in a reasonable time frame.

A Comparative Evaluation of Railways in India and China

By Jitendra Sondhi,World Bank Consultant

A comparison of the Railway Systems in China and India makes interesting study. In thedecade 1992 to 2002 the route Km on the Chinese Railways (CR) has grown from minus6% to plus 14% in comparison to that of the Indian Railways (IR). The two Railwayscarried almost the same volume of Passenger Traffic both in 1992 as well as 2002.

However, in respect of Freight Traffic, the volume carried by CR is four and a half timesthat of India. They have achieved these results through more efficient exploitation oftrack, locomotives and wagons, and by assigning lower priority to passenger services.China has a larger proportion of double line and has adopted automatic signalling moreaggressively than India. As a result, CR operates roughly twice the number of trains onelectrified double line tracks than the Indian Railways (IR). The important parameters

or the two Railway systems are annexed.IR's transport output is 59% from Passenger Services that generated barely 30% of therevenue. CR's output was 34% from passenger, but it generated 41% of the revenue.Unlike India, CR sought full recovery of costs from Passenger Services without anyelement of cross subsidy. IR's freight tariff is 1.6 US cents per tom km as compared toCR's at 0.96 US cents including construction surcharge of 0.4 cents. This big differenceis attributable to the higher labour productivity on CR which is twice that of IR. Inoverall terms as well the labour cost on CR and IR as a proportion of total expenditureis 25% and 53% respectively. The average cost per employee in CR was US $ 2005compared to US $2753 on the IR.

CR are gearing up to meet more intensive competition for freight and passenger


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transport business from highways. More than 25000 km of expressways with minimum 4lanes and controlled-access features and over 27000 km of 4-lans dual carriagewayhighways without controlled access features had been built in China by 2002. CRrecognizes the growing competition from high ways and other modes and considers thatrailway reform is essential to effectively deal with the competitive environment.

Areas where IR could emulate CR

The government should :

Resolve the conflict between IR's role as a commercial organisatin0 and one to servesocial obligations.

Support IR in making only financially viable investments

Fund all social/politically driven investments and resulting operational losses

Holding IR management accountable for service and financial performance

Offer significant incentives to railway management if it exceeds agreed targets.

IR should :

Recognize that highways and airlines will increase competitive pressure on IRimmensely

Recognize the substantial scope in improving productivity of assets and labour andreducing unit costs on IR

Recognize that railway restructuring is inescapable if IR is to serve the needs of the

growing Indian economy.

Separate non core activities, reorganize management on business lines focusing oncustomers

Implement an incentive system based on "benchmark competition" between zonalrailways.

IR should prepare a long term 15 year business strategy and investment plan to enable itmeet the competitive and grow pressures, examples.

Increase utilization of existing assets (automatic signaling heavier trains, modern

train control systems, IT) Improving maintenance of infrastructure and rolling stock to achieve much higher

standards of safety, reliability and availability

Improving quality of service for passenger and freight services (freight-shortertransit time, guaranteed delivery time, wagon tracking etc).

Technology upgradation to reduce unit costs.

Set up separate freight/passenger tracks on busy corridors.

In order to focus on the challenges faced by IR and generate public opinion for IR to

develop capacity, provide superior service and operate more efficiently, it is important


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that a pressure group of stakeholders (railway users and well wishers) be active. Itcould

Canvass with external agencies e.g. Planning Commission, PM's office, etc. forrailway improvement through reform

Create awareness within IR management and staff of the perils of status quo andbenefits of change

Carry out a professional annual review of IR's performance and its impact on Indianeconomy. Such a review would include :

Railway's performance in areas such as financial, operations, safety, service levels,ability to service user needs in traffic volume and service quality, estimates ofunsatisfied demand for rail transport and cost to the economy for diversion of trafficto less economic modes.

Convey its concerns to PM, FM and Railways and seek responsible performance

rom IR.

The Future

IR needs to become a much leaner, client oriented, and profit seeking entity to meetcompetition. This will require restructuring and strong incentives for improvingefficiency. In case the government and IR do not take remedial measures, IR would failto service the transport responsibilities to the Indian economy, imposing great cost tothe growth of the economy.

Comparison of Important Parameters year 2002

Indian Railways Chinese Railways

GENERAL

1. Stations 6858 5437

2. Track Km 109227 106184

3. Double Line 16184 23058

4. Employees million 1.51 1.758

5. Average Annual salary Rs. 126650 RMB 16640

6. Equated TUS Billion 829 2048

7. Operating Ratio 96% 94.6%

8. GDP in $ Billion 515 1200


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9. Per Capital Income $ 502 1500

FREIGHT

10. Originating Loading (mt) 493 2043

11. Tonne Km (btkm) 333 155112. Lead Km 643 759

13. No. of Wagons 216717 445707

14. Market Share % 30 15

15. Route Km 63140 71897

16. Population (Million) 1000 1300

PASSENGER

17. Originating Market Share 15 6.6

18.Originating Passengers(Million)

5093 1056

19. Passenger Kms (Billion) 493 497

20. Passenger Lead Km 97 471

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Choice of Traction

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