Indian Railways working to boost Indian Economy

IR will be principally helping Indian businesses while IR strives to become more cost-efficient, so it can regain profitability and pay back its investments.
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Despite the massive step up in new capital expenditure by the NDA govt, freight and passenger businesses have not taken off. For example non-suburban passenger numbers have fallen in the current year. Rather than worrying about this, Govt and Indian Railways are intending to invest a colossal Rs 50 lakh crore in the next 12 years!! The revenues to service this huge sum would far exceed the current total revenues of Rs 200,000+ crore.

As a Govt of India enterprise of national importance, the Indian Railways is now concerned more than ever about public utility and good service. As per this announcement, Indian Railway has taken an enlightened view of reducing freight charges to boost the Indian economy. Indeed, giving up profitability for the larger national interest is what IR has been doing for a while. For example, in NDA govt between 2014-19, coal and foodgrain railway routes were rationalised (or optimised) by a series of measures like liberalising coal contracts and regional procurement of foodgrains. In other words, Govt had shortened the freight revenue-earning routes of two important commodities.

Railway freight charges are high by global standards. This initiative, along with many others, will lower freight rates and bring greater competitiveness to Indian industry. Besides if everything goes well, IR's investment will help more freight to move faster, on schedule and along more routes. IR will surely attract new freight business but it will have to make prior commitments in higher line capacities and new wagons.

1. Railways has built up spare freight capacities
2. Railways has tested concepts like auto wagons and double-stack dwarf containers
3. Railways is eager to speed up all traffic, even if it means using two locomotives
4. Railways is creating dedicated freight routes via Dedicated Freight Corridors, port-rail connectivity and doubling/ tripling
5. Through private freight terminals it will have created last-mile connectivity, and provided links to multi-modal hubs, inland container ports, out-of-city logistic parks, private ports, etc.
6.  In the next 5 years, Railways will achieve higher efficiencies through network-wide electrification and advanced signalling, full gauge conversion, removal of speed breaks, development of shortened streamlined routes, corporatization of workshops, digitisation and automation.
7.  Railways will encourage increased private operations for better cost-efficiency, superior customer utility and higher returns on IR assets.