In recent years, the government’s vision for the Indian Railways (IR), as reflected in the Budget speech, has been reduced to just a few lines. Therefore, expectations for railway-related announcements in the Finance Minister’s Budget speech were low. Some mention rail safety, which has been under considerable stress recently, and an update on the Interim Budget announcement of three economic corridors and the upgrade of 40,000 rail coaches was expected. As for the numbers, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the operating ratio would be kept just below 100 through the now-familiar accounting practice of severely curtailing the allotment for depreciation, and that the government would continue its rail infrastructure spending spree, financed almost entirely through General Budgetary Support (GBS).

As it turned out, the Railways did not merit even one sentence from the Finance Minister. Arguably, even defence, education and health did not receive special mention. Nevertheless, the numbers were very much as expected.

Passenger, other coaching like parcel services, and sundry earnings are estimated to be ₹88,800 crore against ₹77,820 crore in 2022-23, marking a 14.1 per cent increase. This is no pleasant surprise, as IR has been severely berated in recent years for deliberately reducing less-remunerative short intercity commuter and suburban services and lower-class general coaches in long-distance trains while increasing higher-end services like Vande Bharat trains and AC coaches in long-distance trains. Following severe criticism on social media, IR announced a U-turn to build more non-AC coaches and augment such services. However, what is unexplained is that the budget projections retain the same buoyancy, with receipts budgeted at ₹98,000 crore for 2024-25, a 10.4 per cent increase. The announcements and projections do not align.

Freight receipts

The likely freight receipts are shown to be ₹1,64,700 crore against ₹1,57,642 crore in 2022-23, a mere 4.5 per cent increase. Investments in rail infrastructure have gone up multiple times since 2014 and the much-delayed big-ticket project of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) is almost complete. However, IR does not seem to be retaining its modal share, let alone capturing new markets, particularly in non-bulk commodities. It appears that the government itself is not hopeful of any turnaround in IR’s freight performance, as the budgeted receipts for 2024-25 are pegged to increase only by 5.9 per cent to ₹1,74,500 crore. With the country’s economy growing at 8 per cent, the performance of any logistics player expanding at this rate is surely dismal.

I firmly believe that except for one or two non-AC long-distance trains per route for poor migrants, all trains should be air-conditioned — even for the common man, but with reduced fares. Every Indian deserves to travel with dignity and comfort, and whatever subsidies are necessary to achieve this should be provided as it is essential for India to gear up to become a developed nation in the next two decades. Unfortunately, the current policy flip-flopping reveals a lack of vision for the train travel experience of the common traveller.

Unaddressed issues

Now, let us take a quick look at what the FM did not address but should have. The capital expenditure level through GBS remains at the same level as announced in the Interim Budget, at ₹2.52-lakh crore. It’s time the government demonstrates some credible benefits of this level of infrastructure spending. IR is a public service that must sustain itself by earning more than it spends, using the surplus to fund new investments instead of relying perpetually on GBS. Borrowing is not a viable option any-more either, as the mounting interest burden from years of borrowing significantly eats into IR’s revenue.

The biggest worry for IR today is its safety record. Rather than delving into accident and fatality data, we need to chart a path toward zero accidents. Modern technology like Kavach, the indigenous signalling cum anti-collision system, and Artificial Intelligence to sift through IR’s massive movement-related digital data are tools which must be used on this course — it calls for serious thought and focus.

Another important announcement should have been the likely completion dates for the much-delayed big-ticket projects like the J&K line, Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), High-Speed Rail (HSR), etc. Then there are other issues the government has announced earlier but remain sidelined: to name a few, track upgrades for 160 kmph operation and enhanced safety, elimination of waiting lists in trains, export strategy, Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS), etc.

One hopes that the government’s new strategy is not to choose silence over speaking.

The writer is Retd. General Manager, Indian Railways, Leader of Vande Bharat project, and Independent Rail Consultant

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