Economic Highlights
New Delhi, 12 February 2024
Railway Budget
SELF FUNDER, EARNS PROFITS
By Shivaji Sarkar
Railways
is beyond speed. It connects India. It takes passengers to the farthest,
remotest and inaccessible area and immensely contributes to the growth of
hinterlands. Its contributions are not for getting lost amid glitz of the infra
push, the roads, solar or space achievements. It is much more than speed,
coaches and corridors. The Indian Railways remains the driver of the economy as
Covid-19 exemplified. The closure of the trains slowed down the economic
growth. It tumbled to minus 24 per cent.
While
Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti, which is a transformative approach for
economic growth and sustainable development, is a good target to make corridor
functioning more efficient. All the same it needs to stress on the trains that
connect every station of the country, once served by the trains like the Janata
Express. Rail travel still remains affordable, but the cost on the most
deprived is increasing. Logically correct, but the nation must take care of the
large number of the poor who have just come up the official poverty line, but
who as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, told in Rajya Sabha, need more care and
his free food dole for another five years is meant to tend them and handhold
them to the next better phase of life.
Railways
is self-funded and having profits too though emphasising less on commuters.
Somewhere it gets into oblivion that locally connecting trains are not only
needed in metro cities of Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru but also in
all other States whether Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, or southern states of
Andhra, Telangana, Odisha or the critical North East.
Various
metro projects have been allocated Rs 23931 crore and Rs 1300 crore for
electric buses. But it is observed that these do not cater to the poorer class,
even in cities like Delhi. They shun metro for its high fare affecting their
mobility. The Delhi-Meerut rapid transit metro runs parallel to Northern
Railway suburban-cum-local tracks. It has a high cost and proposed fare as
well. But it deprives the highest number of poorer travellers as they lack affordability.
The Chennai and Mumbai local trains are more efficiently run than the metros in
these cities. Overall losses of metro in all sections are being overlooked.
As per
official figures, 50 per cent of total railway passengers are suburban commuters
from the three major cities – Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. If other hubs all
over the country are included, they would form the major chunk of approximately
80 lakh passengers. They despite contributing substantially to the economy,
remain the most neglected. In pursuit of speed, the most productive people are
being ignored. Their contribution to rail profit is underestimated. Even the
running trains generate jobs for thousands of vendors.
Projects
such as the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) need a review. It has also
been observed that Kolkata metro of Indian Railways remain the best and most
profitable despite high cost of deep tunnelling under the river Hooghly. Unlike
most other metros it remains profitable and high ridership as is also the case
with the Kolkata suburban railway.
It is
often said that Railways is not making enough money. That’s incorrect. It has
earned Rs 2242 crore extra revenue denying concessions to them between March
2020 and March 2023. The financial year 2022-23 alone earned Rs 560 crore from
the change in norms making it the most profitable year, according to Centre for
Railway Information Systems (CRIS).
The
railways have earned Rs 2800 crore in the last seven years from child
travellers, who are made to full fare since April 21, 2016. Earlier, children
between 5 and 12 years were offered separate berths at half the travel fare.
Fares of suburban travel have also been revised.
The
budget has earmarked a capex of Rs 2.55 lakh crore for the Indian Railways,
which is just marginally higher than the Rs 2.4 lakh crore announced in last
year’s budget. The Railways needs a bigger push. It should not be for suddenly
changing 40,000 coaches to Vande Bharat type structure as this is not needed.
The officials have made the planners opt for an inappropriate step.
The
actual total receipt of Indian Railways was Rs 240,176.96 crore in 2022-23,
which was estimated to rise to Rs 265,000 crore in 2023-24 (BE) but was found
to be Rs 258,600 crore in 2023-24 (RE). As against this, total expenditure has
been on the rise, which were Rs 237,659.58 crore in 2022-23 (actual), Rs
262,790 crore in 2023-24 (BE), and Rs 256,600 crore in 2023-24 (RE). Now, the
interim budget 2024-25 has estimated it to rise to Rs 279,700 crore.
The
finance minister’s announced budgetary support of Rs 2.55 lakh crore is an
illusion. It only rechristens the railways own accounts in finance ministry
terms. In other words, it could be said that the Railways is not being given
any extra finance. Even its capex is generated by the railways itself. It has
one of the highest operating ratio up from 90 per cent in 2013 to 98 per cent
in 2025. This means that railways is to spend Rs 98 per every Rs 100 it earns.
It reflects in the share market too on the high demand of railway-related
company scrip.
In
pursuit of speed, it should neither slow down regular trains, nor cancel local
passenger trains or neglect the suburban sector. It is not wise to be left it
to be catered by metro or RRTS trains at huge costs. Each metro station
construction, security and avoidable paraphernalia costs much more than the
railways would have done.
Lack of
integrated rail-led passenger transport vision has added to tremendous cost of
less utilised metros as in Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Bengaluru and other such
cities. Metros should be replaced with elevated trams. Any average 150-year-old
rail stations serve far better. Rail stations need simple, beautiful and easy
access, not a designer one. Most demolitions of old efficient structures of
stations must be stopped. Along with that elevated trams with simple access to
platforms should be planned for efficient, inexpensive, comfortable city
commuting.
This calls
for reorientation and a falsified approach that the Indian Railways needs very
high speed. It has evolved with the best and with minimum efforts and
expenditure it should be made better. The rural, semi-urban and urban
travellers need the attention and the railways must orient it towards them. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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