Copy of Transport in India

7/31/2019 Copy of Transport in India

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ECONOMICS PROJECT

Rail Transport

In India

Submitted by:

Poorvi Medatwal

B.Sc. SEM II

(Pass course)

ICG\2008\8480


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Rail transport in India

INDEX

TransportIntroduction

Significance of the transport

Modes of transport


Introduction

Statistics

Relevance

Methodology

Development of rail transport in India

Development of railways under the plans

Expansion of Chinese and Indian railways

Fare freight ratio

Deficits, inefficiency and finances

Railway rates

Current problems in Indian railways

Suggestions to the problems listed

Conclusion

Bibliography


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According to Kurt Wienderfield, Transportation system is the sum of all the

technical instruments and organization designed to enable persons, commodities

and news to master space .The major means of transportation are rail, road, air water

etc. India is a country where one can find every kind of land and terrain, from desserts to

mountains. Due to this variety of terrains, there is a great variety of transport methods.

Transport

Transport is the movement ofpeople and goods from one location to another. Transport

is performed by various modes, such as air, rail, road, water, cable,pipeline and space.

The whole country has a varied setup of transport system. Every city has an independent

transport system that uses various transport methods from manual rickshaws to trains.

Transport system of India is one of the biggest and most complex transport systems in

the world. The Indian Railway is the world's biggest railway network.

All parts of the country are equally well connected with roads as well as railways.

However there are some parts of the country where trains cannot reach so one has to

retort to roads only. Airways connect most of the country's urban areas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passengerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modes_of_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipeline_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passengerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modes_of_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipeline_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_transport


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Significance of Transport

Alfred Marshall, the classical economist has summed up the importance of transport in

the following words, Thus, transportation industries which undertake nothing more than

the mere movement of persons and things from one place to another have constituted

one of the most important activities of men in every stage of advanced civilization.

1. The transport system helps to broaden the market for goods and by doing so; it

makes possible large scale production through division of labour.

2. It is also essential for the movement of raw materials, fuel, machinery etc. to the

places of production. The more extensive and continuous the production in any branch

of activity, continuous the greater will be the need for the transport facilities.

3. It helps to open up remote regions and resources for production .By linking the

backward regions with the relatively more advanced; it helps in the better in fuller

utilization of resources.

4. Expansion of transport facilities helps industrialization directly .the demand forlocomotives, motor vehicles, ships etc. leads to the start of industries which specialize in

the production of these goods.


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Modes of transport

The different means of transport available in India are:

* Water transport Rail transport

* Air transport Road transport


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Rail transport is the transport of passengers and goods along railways (or railroads),

consisting of two parallel steelrails, generally anchoredperpendiculartobeams (termed

sleepers or ties) of timber, concrete or steel to maintain a consistent distance apart, or

gauge.

Railways came to be operated in India for the first time in 1853.Indian Railways Hindi:

Bharatiya Rail), abbreviated as IR() has a total state monopoly on India's

rail transport. It is a commonly used mode of long-distance transportation in India. It

link up the various distant regions of the country and increase the occupational mobility,

covering a total length of 63,332 kilometers (39,233 miles). Its operations covertwenty-

eight states and three union territories and also provide limited service to Nepal,

Bangladesh and Pakistan.

It is one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting 18 million

passengers daily and more than two million tonnes of freight daily. IR is the world's

largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.6 million employees.

Statistics (2005-06)

World's 4th largest rail network, with

route length of 63,332 km.

World's largest rail network under a

single management.

300 storage and maintenance yards.

2,300 warehouses.

700 repair shops.

8,025 locomotives.

44,090 passenger coaches.

32,434 freight wagons.

6,974 Railway stations
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Steelhttp://www.reference.com/go/http:/wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_tracks%23Railway_railhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Perpendicularhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Beam_(structure)http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Railroad_tiehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Timberhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Concretehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Steelhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Rail_gaugehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopolyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employerhttp://www.indopedia.org/Warehouse.htmlhttp://www.indopedia.org/Locomotive.htmlhttp://www.indopedia.org/index.php?title=Passenger_coach&action=edithttp://www.indopedia.org/index.php?title=Freight_wagon&action=edithttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Steelhttp://www.reference.com/go/http:/wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_tracks%23Railway_railhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Perpendicularhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Beam_(structure)http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Railroad_tiehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Timberhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Concretehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Steelhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Rail_gaugehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopolyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://www.indopedia.org/Warehouse.htmlhttp://www.indopedia.org/Locomotive.htmlhttp://www.indopedia.org/index.php?title=Passenger_coach&action=edithttp://www.indopedia.org/index.php?title=Freight_wagon&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employer


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Relevance of the Indian Railways

Indian railways are the single largest transport in Asia. It has fourth ranking in the world

regarding transport. Also the railways have the first place in internal transport.

1. Agricultural development

The railway helps in the movement of the produce by the small farmers to the large

cities, thus making subsistence farming to commercial farming. Farmers can grow

crops commercial crops for sale even in the distant markets.

2. Industrial development

Industrial development requires cheap, efficient transport and adequate means of

transport. Through efficient means of rail transport, factories get raw materials and

laborers get food grains.

3. Mobility of Factors

Mobility of labour and capital in various sectors has increased due to development in

the rail transport. Factors of production can move from one place to another easily and

cheaply, thus removing the regional imbalances.

4. Revenue to the government

Gradually railways have become a good source of earnings for the Indian government,

which earlier proved to be a costly affair till late 19th century.

5. Expansion of trade

Developments in the rail transport have helped in the establishment of profitable trade

and economic relations in the country.

6. Development of cities

It has greatly reduced the distances between the cities and villages and has provided

opportunity to the rural unemployed people to get them employed in the nearby cities.

7. Economic development


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Rail transport help bring about equilibrium between demand and supply and thereby

check wide changes in prices.

8. Growth of market

It facilitates the growth of markets. Resources can be withdrawn from different areas

and also final goods can be sold at any part of the county.

9. Large scale production

It has lead to the regional specialization of production. Goods produced at one place

in bulk can be conveniently sold across different parts of the country.

10. Encouragement to tourism

The rail transport has made a remarkable encouragement in the tourism sector.

People are encouraged to visit different places as travelling became convenient and

comfortable.

Railways Have an Edge

Rail transport have an edge over other means of transport, road transport in

particular. Following points bring out this distinctive feature of railways:

* Railways are much more economical in land use compared to road transport. It is

estimated that the rail transport is four times more economical compared to the roadtransport in the use of land.

* As regards the use of energy, rail transport is found to be four times more energy

efficient than the road transport.

* For a given level of traffic, cost factor is approximately six times lower in the case

of railways compared to the other means of transport.

* Railways are much more environmental friendly compared to the other means of

transport.

* Railways are major means of transportation which can use any one of the

conventional sources of energy, i.e. coal, oil, or electricity.

Methodology


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This is an analytical study based on secondary sources, various books, journals,

periodicals, magazines, which have been referred for this study. Even internet has been

used for the collection of required information.

Development of Rail Transport in India

Railways have revolutionized the transport system world over. It is the convenient mode

of transport for long distances .It is most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky goods,

materials, machineries etc. In fact railways play a crucial and vital role in the economic

development of the country.

Railways came to be operated in India for the first time in 1853 when the first railwaytrain made its historian journey in the Bombay area from Bori Bunder to Thane, a stretch

of 34 kms. The railways at present constitute a sizeable part of the countrys

infrastructure .in 1905, a railway board was constituted for its management .In 1914,

there were nearly 32,285 miles of railway lines. The railways construction slacked

during the First World War (1914-1918) and in the next 30 years. The growth of railway

since independence in 1947 has been rapid. As the Indian Economy moves in to a higher

growth trajectory, Indian Railways have also stepped up developmental efforts and is

preparing itself for an even bigger role in the future. At present, the Indian railways

occupy a significant place in the Indian economy. It is the countrys biggest nationalized

enterprise and also the largest in Asia and 4th largest in the world. It has the investment

to the tune of Rs.23, 590 crores in 1994-95.The Indian railways employs nearly 1.7

million persons and have route of 62,500 kms.


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Railway Development under the Plans

Broadly speaking, the progress and development of Indian railways under the five year

plans has passed through the three stages, i.e. Expansion, modernization and self

sufficiency in equipment. The main objective of planning in India in railways in the past

was to expand railway traffic in such a way to avoid bottlenecks in the production

process and to ensure an efficient rail transport system. The total outlay on railways in

the first five year plan to seventh five year plan was Rs. 24,000crores. The main

objectives of rail transport system under various five year plans are as follows:-

i. First Plan(1951-56) rehabilitation and replacement of over aged assets;

ii. Second Plan(1956-61) particular emphasis to prepare the railways for carrying

the traffic generated by the new steel plants and the increased production of coal;

iii. Third Plan (1961-66) building up additional capacity so as to be ahead of the

traffic demand and to prevent bottlenecks ;

iv. Fourth Plan to Seventh Plan modernization of the system to improve the

efficiency of the operations and high priority to the development of the freight

terminals to facilitate the free and smooth movement of wagons; accelerate the

conversion steam locomotives to diesel and electric traction.

v. Eight and Ninth Plans main thrust was on capacity generation, manpowerplanning and energy conservation, safety and consumer satisfaction.

vi. Tenth Plan (2002-07) emphasized capacity expansion through modernization

and technological upgradation, improvement in quality of service and

improvement in safety and reliability of railway services. It has seen a remarkable

turnaround in the financial performance of the Indian Railways, making it possible


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for it to place increased reliance on internal resources and market borrowings for

development. The actual mobilization of internal resources went up from a meager

Rs.3,113 crores or 27% of total resource mobilization in its first year to a sizable

contribution of more than Rs.12,000 crores or nearly 50% of the total resource

mobilization in its final year.

vii. Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) emphasized particularly the need to increase

capacity on critical routes such as Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah and Expects

to provide World class transport services .The railways are taking a major

initiative in shifting to Public Private Participation (PPP) .This will enable the

railways to undertake a much large programme of capacity incrementation.

Progress and development of Railways since

1950-51Particulars 1950-51 1960-

61

1970-71 1993-94 2005-06

1.Route length (kms) 53,000 56,200 59,800 62,600 63,370

of which electrified

route lengths(kms)

390 750 3,700 11,260 17,910

2.Passengers originating

(millions)

1,290 1,600 2,430 3,700 5,830

3. Goods

originating(million

tonnes)

93 156 197 380 666

4. No. of locomotives 8,210 10,620 11,160 7,800 8,025

Of which diesel 17 180 1,170 4,170 4,900

Of which electric 72 130 600 2,120 3,080

5. No. of coaches 19,630 28,440 38,150 40,000 44,090

6.No. of

wagons(thousands)

206 308 384 312 207


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Expansion of Chinese and Indian Railways

Comparison between Chinese and Indian railways

(1992-2002)

China IndiaNew track 13797 682

Electrification 8975 5192

Investment(billion $) 85 17.3

Freight(2003-04)

(billion net ton kilometers)

1724 381

Passenger(2003-04)

(billion passenger kilometer)

478 541


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The mid term appraisal of the tenth plan document had noted that the Chinese railways

is carrying 4.5 times more freight than the Indian railways , mainly due to the larger

investments made in the Chinese railways in expanding and strengthening the

infrastructure which also contributed towards improvements in the productivity of the

Chinese railways . Indian railways carries more passengers than Chinese railways but

the longer term of development of the railways in India depends crucially upon its ability

to move freight , in keeping with the needs of the growing economy and at speeds and

reliability determined by the need to be competitive.

Fare Freight Ratio


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The fare freight ratio, i.e. the ratio of passenger fare per km and freight rate per tonne

km, in India is among the lowest in the world, indicating the extent of cross-

subsidization from freight to passengers. This is not a viable strategy since the railways

are competing with the air traffic for premier segment and the airline sector is strongly

competitive. Reducing cross-subsidization within passenger fares and between the fares

of passenger and freight is now an urgent necessity. In any case, railways have to move

towards aligning the fares with the cost in all modes and classes of traffic.

Deficits, Inefficiency and Finances


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Deficits in the railway budgets for quite many years, in fact involved the railways into

large indebtedness to the government as the rise in fares and free trades could not

balance the budget. These deficits have been caused largely by three main factors: -

* Rise in the cost of inputs like coal, diesel etc. Wages of railway personnel too have

gone up.

* The rising expenditure that railways have to incur on fulfilling its social obligation.

For example, it has to carry certain essential goods like food grains, fodder, salt etc.,

at charges less than its cost.

* Certain lines i.e. suburban trains have to be managed at concessional rates, which

may even be unremunerative. Railways also have to incur large relief measures

which reduce their earnings.

Finances of Indian railways (in crores)

Year 1950-51 1980-81 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07

Total earnings 260 2,260 47,370 54,491 65,980

Total expenses 210 2,500 42,759 45,574 50,200

Net earnings 50 120 5,274 8,006 15,780

Dividend to general revenue 30 320 3,200 3,668 4,240

Surplus(+)

Deficit(-)

+20

-200

+2,074 +4338 +11,540


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The table above gives the summary of the working of the Indian railways sinceindependence. The first column gives total traffic earnings (which include passenger

earnings, goods earnings, and other miscellaneous receipts).The total working expenses

and also appropriation s to the depreciation reserve and the pension fund. Out of the net

revenue or earnings, the railways pay a dividend to the government (as the sole share

holder) and this is known as dividend to general revenues.

The following data has been graphically represented in the above graph.


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Railway Rates

Railways rates connected with the finances of railways, is that of the pricing of its

services. The fixation of railway rates has also along been a problem because of the

conflicting objectives of balancing the budget, as also of meeting its social obligations.

A balanced approach is necessary in this regard, as the railways do not run for

themselves alone, but equally importantly they do so in the interest of the economy. Any

shortfall in this service has a multiplier effect on the level of activity in the country.

Therefore, it sometimes happens that the raising of rates results in a larger loss to the

economy than the gain to the railways. Again, concessions withdrawn or reduced to

meet deficit affect adversely the vast consumers of essential goods or exports of the

country, backward regions etc. Even in the advanced countries railways are made to

offer concessions. In Germany and England for example, railways carry a substantial

proportion of goods traffic at concessional rates to encourage foreign exchange earnings.

Hence, what is needed is not merely a rational rate structure, i.e. one that makes sense in

respect of different distances to be covered, different commodities with differences in

rates and bulkiness of goods etc. But equally and in fact more importantly, it should be

socially oriented to promote priorities of the society. As such, society should ensure that

the finances of railways do not get upset. Either concession are met from general budget,

or railway deficits (subject to efficient management) are made good by the government,

or dividend and contributions by railways to the general budget be so tailored as to fit in

with this policy.


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CURRENT PROBLEMS IN INDIAN RAILWAY

Despite the large progress in railways there are still inadequate funds for the growing

needs and railway also offer from certain short comings in their operation. A few of

them are listed below:-

Gross inadequacy

This is evident from several aspects of the railway system such as

The total mileage which is still very small considering Indias large population,

long distances, the growing agriculture and industry.

This shortcoming is brought out pointedly if we compare it with other

countries.

Country Railway mileage

(per one lakh

population)

Area wise(per 100

sq. miles)

Canada 465 20.0

UK 465 20.4

USA 224 6.6

India 9.5 2.8

Unequal distribution

Its distribution is unequal with backward areas very much short of this service. In

many areas in the south, as also in Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Gujarat and Bihar,

this service is woefully short.

Overcrowding

Overcrowding is a big issue, with the General compartment often being packed

beyond capacity. During the holiday seasons, reserved tickets have to be booked

two months in advance, to avoid a generally static waiting list.


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Slow modernization

The pace of modernization has been slow indeed. The electrification of routes is far

from satisfactory. Again other equipments such as signaling have not yet been fully

updated. Trains with speed of more than 100km per hour are very few in number.

AccidentsThe main problem plaguing the Railways is the high accident rate which stands at

about three hundreda year. Although accidents such as derailment and collisions are

less common in recent times, many are run over by trains, especially in crowded

areas. Human error is the primary cause (83%)blamed for mishaps.

Level crossings and fencing

In many places, pedestrians, vehicles orcyclists may cut across the tracks to save

time, causing a safety hazard to the railways. Reasons given are that suitable

bridges or level crossings over the tracks are non-existent or inconveniently placed.

Most railway land in India is not fenced or restricted in any way, allowing free

trespass. In rural areas, cattle and other animals may stray onto the tracks, posing a

much more serious safety hazard to fast-moving trains.

SanitationSanitation is a significant problem on Indian Railways. Due to the size of the

network and low speeds, journeys can last many days. The toilets on Indian

Railways trains are of the direct-vent type (i.e. a hole in the floor), without any

effluent storage tanks on board. This causes an accumulation of human waste on the

tracks in places where the train stands still, such as in large stations. Due to the

number of users, the toilets are often in bad condition.

Suggested measures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derailmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanitationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derailmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanitation


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The major problem that the passenger faces is of overcrowding in trains. This is the root

cause of many other problems arising in the Indian Railways in one way or the other.

1.Expansion and modernization of railway network

This requires large allocation of resources. The increase in the previous plans

though impressive in money terms has not been much in real terms because of the

large rise in prices. Large funds are required for the expansion of rolling stock,

track renewal and extension of tracks as also for upgradation of technology. There

is also an urgent need to make railways modernized as to make them safe to

travel.

2. Huge rush / capacity of train :

To reduce the rush we have to design coaches in such a manner that maximum

utilization of available space can be done.

Use of chair-car coaches instead of sleeper.

Some coaches should have space for standing only.

Sideways of coaches should be designed for more capacity of luggage.

3. Comfort and User-friendly :

Passengers should be provided with facilities to enhance their comfort .For

that we need to keep in mind the below mentioned points:

Seats should be comfortable and spacious.

Hangers for standing people should be of comfortable material.

Proper announcement for required information as upcoming stations.

Automatic doors to avoid accidents.

Proper availability of light and air.

Some seats are provided for Handicapped persons.


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Conclusions

The progress, development and expansion of railways have revolutionized the transport

system all over the world. The railways ushered in the possibility of cheap bulk and mass

long distances transportation. But the remedial strategies have naturally to be multi-

pronged. On one side the railways have to rationalize their fare and freight structure and

make it largely cost based.

Railways has to bring out large improvement in operations by switching over mainly to

long and medium distance operations, adopt a forward looking transaction policy and

inventory management, update technology, resort to aggressive marketing strategies and

restore discipline and raise productivity. On the other planning commission has to treat the

railways again as a core sector and provide it need based resources for renewal,

replacement and development. The continued neglect of the railways will be suicidal. This

is the only real national transport network for medium and long lead traffic, and along

with the energy sector, this lays the foundation for sound economic development. A better

coordination and regulation of both of these systems will go a long way in achieving

optimum utilization of natural resources.

Bibliography


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KPM Sunderam Rudra Dutt, INDIAN ECONOMY, S.Chand 2008,57th revised

N.D.Mathur, Economic policy and planning

S.K.Mishra & V.K.Puri , Indian Economy, Himalayan publishing house, 27th

revised edition

Planning commission of India, Eleventh Five Year Plan

http://articles.industrialsoft.org

http://www.indianrail.gov.in/abir.html

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/deptts/stat-eco/yearbook-0607
http://articles.industrialsoft.org/http://www.indianrail.gov.in/abir.htmlhttp://articles.industrialsoft.org/http://www.indianrail.gov.in/abir.html

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Copy of Transport in India