Challenges Indian Railways faces: Indian Railways’ deft balancing act

Source: The post challenges Indian Railways faces has been created, based on the article “Indian Railways’ deft balancing act” published in “Live mints” on 1st May 2024.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3– Economy-Infrastructures (railway)

Context: The article discusses the challenges Indian Railways faces in balancing affordable travel with profitability.

For details information on Privatisation of Indian Railways read this article

What challenges does Indian Railways face?

Overcrowding Issues: Sudhanshu Sultania, a sociologist, shared a video showing severe overcrowding in a train’s sleeper coach, worse than in general class, highlighting issues with unauthorized travelers and accessibility to basic amenities like toilets.

Financial Struggles: Despite efforts to improve services, the railways’ social obligation to provide affordable transport is often unprofitable. For instance, in 2023-24, operating expenses nearly exceed passenger and goods revenue.

For details information on increasing Indian Railways’ revenue read this article

Revenue Disparity: AC-class passengers, though only 11% of the total, generated over 50% of the revenue in 2023-24, highlighting a reliance on a small, more affluent customer base.

Capacity Constraints: There is a chronic shortage of berths, with 52.6 million waitlisted tickets canceled in 2023, earning substantial cancellation fees.

What future plans does Indian Railways have?

National Rail Plan 2030: The plan aims to create a “future ready railway system by 2030” by forecasting both goods and passenger growth, and planning infrastructure accordingly.

Focus on AC Travel: The shift towards increasing AC coaches was highlighted with the Railway Board’s 2022 circular that changed the train composition to include more AC coaches (15 out of 22) at the expense of non-AC coaches.

Reduced Non-AC Options: The article mentions that the Railway Board chairperson indicated a long-term policy to phase out non-AC sleeper class on faster trains (130 kmph and above), focusing on newer classes of trains like Vande Bharat and increasing the share of AC coaches.

Addressing Supply and Demand: It discusses the potential misalignment in forecasting future demand by basing it on existing passenger statistics, which may not account for unmet demand in non-AC classes, potentially worsening overcrowding if not managed.

For details information on Railways Multi-modal transport hubs read here

Question for practice:

Discuss the challenges faced by Indian Railways in balancing affordable travel with profitability and outline their future plans to address these issues.