India is on a committed journey of development. The goal is ambitious – transforming India into a developed nation by 2047. Obviously, any country’s infrastructure must reflect the fruits of development. Prior to 2014, and for some years after it, the Indian Railways was not in a good position. Plagued by delays, accidents, ageing infrastructure and filth, a train journey was seldom a pleasant experience for anybody in India. Today, the transformation is visible.
Have all the gaps been plugged? Not really, but there is no doubt that Indian Railways (IR) has come a long way. Upgrading a giant like the IR was never going to either be easy or quick. The point, however, is that unprecedented changes have, and are continuing to take place on the railway front.
Today, Indian Railways is fast replacing the traditional Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coaches with the advanced Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches. According to the statement issued by the Ministry of Railways, a total of 23,000 conventional coaches have been successfully replaced by their LHB counterparts since 2015. LHB coaches boast a range of advanced features, including an anti-climbing arrangement, secondary air suspension with a failure indication system, and a corrosion-resistant shell. Their biggest USP is that they are much safer compared to older ICF coaches.
The primary features of LHB coaches include an enhanced ride quality measurement, the incorporation of a Centre Buffer Coupler to enhance safety, and an axle-mounted disc brake mechanism. Engineered for durability, these coaches are intended to reduce damage and mitigate the risk of capsizing in accidents. They also come equipped with bio-toilets, expanded seating capacity, wide panoramic windows, fiber-reinforced plastic panels in air-conditioned coaches, and microprocessor-controlled air conditioning units.
Since at least 2018, the production units of Indian Railways at Chittaranjan, Patiala and Varanasi have been dedicatedly working for the manufacture of LHB coaches.
The interim budget came as another shot in the arm for the Railways, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated Rs 2.55 lakh crore to the government’s largest public sector undertaking. This has effectively set the stage for the upgradation of approximately 40,000 coaches to Vande Bharat standards.
Speaking of the latest sensation on Indian tracks, the Vande Bharat trains will soon not just be a luxury that only the better-off classes of people enjoy. The Railways are preparing to introduce Vande Bharat sleeper trains, with the prototype already completed and trials scheduled to commence in April. Reports indicate that the first batch of 10 Vande Bharat trains equipped with sleeping facilities are slated for introduction in March 2024. These trains are anticipated to commence operation on initial routes like Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah in April.
Similarly, India now boasts of more than 100 Vista Dome coaches crisscrossing the country on different scenic routes. Vista dome coaches are all-weather glass-ceiling AC coaches that are used on scenic routes with the goal of boosting tourism and all-round travel experience.
The goal is to populate Indian tracks with Vande Bharat trains and LHB coaches. Above all, these decisions will enhance the overall safety of rail travel in India. In fact, the railways have spent more than Rs 1 lakh crore on the renewal and upgradation of critical safety assets in the last five years alone. The amount includes Rs 65,000 crore from gross budgetary support (GBS) and a balance of Rs 40,378 crore from internal and extra-budgetary resources by the Ministry of Railways.
This tireless effort has yielded tangible results. Accident rates have plummeted by 70 per cent since 2014, from 117 to a mere 34 in 2022. The elimination of all unmanned level crossings in 2019 by the Railways has further made train journeys safer for all travellers, apart from those who commute and pass through railway crossings on a daily basis. Not just basic hygiene, the Railways is also focusing on ensuring a greener and environmentally cleaner future for itself.
The IR wants to ditch dirty emissions and achieve its net zero target by 2030. So, the shift to hydrogen-powered trains is gathering momentum! Initially, 35 trains will be launched on scenic routes, called ‘Hydrogen for Heritage’. These trains are expected to cost $330 million and may start services as early as 2024.
Besides, the IR has also awarded a pilot project for retrofitment of hydrogen fuel cell on existing Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) rakes. Field trials of the first prototype are expected to commence this year. Also, USAID and Indian Railways had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June 2023 under which USAID is supporting the IR to achieve its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Work is also going on for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across India as part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The ambitious project is estimated to cost Rs 24,470 crore. The 508 chosen stations are spread across 16 states and Union Territories. Once the redevelopment work of these stations is complete, Indians will have a profoundly different experience as they undertake train travel. The smelly, unclean and dilapidated state of railway stations has already been reduced to a great extent, and with the redevelopment programme on, Indians will soon have modern and well-equipped train stations at their disposal.
Already, the IR has equipped more than 6,000 railway stations with free WiFi services. Railway infrastructure has also received a major fillip with the successful electrification of 90 per cent of the broad-gauge network. India has so far registered electrification of 58,812 Route Kilometres (RKMs) out of the total network of 65,300 km.
Work towards enhancing Indian Railways is far from over. The Modi government plans to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in the coming years to replace the country’s ageing rolling stock, for which India would have to replace 7,000-8,000 new train sets. It is on this front that the advent of Vande Bharat trains and LHB coaches will prove instrumental.
From the overhaul of infrastructure to the introduction of innovative technologies, the transformation of the Indian Railways since 2014 has been remarkable. While challenges persist, the strides made in safety, comfort, and sustainability are undeniable. With initiatives like the introduction of sleeper coaches to Vande Bharat trains, the upcoming deployment of hydrogen-powered trains, and the ambitious station redevelopment project, the future of rail travel in India looks promising.
As the journey towards modernisation continues, the collaborative efforts of government, industry, and society will play a pivotal role in shaping the railways of tomorrow.
Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
Comments
0 comment