Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Empowering the New India
New India’s journey from fragile five to fastest growing economy of the world.
Indian railways have always been a lifeline for the nation due to its vast population, diverse lands, and cheap service. After the triumphant takeover of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government in the country, the fate of Indian Railways has seen ambitious heights. From Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) manufacturing to innovations and technology adopted by Indian railways, the sector has bolstered significantly under the orchestration of the Modi government. “The Indian Railways will become the growth engine of the nation’s vikas yatra,” vowed Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Indian Railways has transformed in the previous decade and registered record revenue of Rs. 2.40 Lakh Cr. for FY 2022-23. This is nearly Rs 49000 Cr. more than previous year, reflecting 25% growth. Freight revenue has also leapfrogged to Rs. 1.62 lakh Cr, a growth of nearly 15%. Passenger revenues registered an all time high growth of 61% to reach Rs 63,300 Cr.
Prime Minister Modi’s farsightedness can be easily justified by watching this video.
During the Mint Mobility Conclave in 2022, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Railways, revealed a comprehensive five-element transformation plan aimed at facilitating the safe and sustainable transportation of one billion people by the Indian Railways in the future. These five elements have been identified with a long-term target of 2047, coinciding with India’s centennial Independence Day.
After 2014, India embarked on an ambitious journey into the transformation of the Indian Railways into a modern, efficient, and customer-centric sector. The Indian Railways has witnessed a transformational leap in the span of nine years, between 2014 and 2022, under the Modi government’s leadership.
Fueling innovation and upgradation
In recent years, the Indian Railways has witnessed a significant transformation in terms of innovation and upgradation. The introduction of advanced trains like fully indigenous Vande Bharat and Tejas, Hum Safar has revolutionised the locomotive travel industry. Additionally, the Central government’s efforts in redesigning and redeveloping railway platforms have brought about a notable change in their appearance. Since 2014, nearly 400 railway stations have been redeveloped and now under the Amrit Bharat station scheme, redevelopment of 1275 stations have been taken up after the announcement in budget 2023. Out of these 1275, work is already under progress on 125+ stations and around 1155 are in various stages of planning.
Indian Railways and Atmanirbhar Bharat
According to a government report, all coaches manufactured in production units are completely indigenous except for the forged wheel and axle. Efforts are being made to indigenize them as well. 97% of electric locomotive equipment is indigenously sourced. Most of the track machines (around 87%) are manufactured in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for self-reliance in India has led to several notable developments in the railway sector. For instance, the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project aims to provide regional connectivity with domestically manufactured coaches featuring transverse seating. The RRTS also incorporates ballastless tracks, reducing maintenance costs. Additionally, indigenous platform screen doors (PSDs) are being manufactured for various rail projects to improve safety and crowd management. The focus on indigenously developed signalling technology, such as the Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) system, demonstrates a commitment to the “Make in India ” initiative.
Mission Raftaar
In 2016, the Indian Railways launched “Mission Raftaar” to enhance the speed of trains and reduce travel time. The aim was to increase the average speed of freight trains to 50 km/hr and passenger trains to 80 km/hr. As a part of this, Indian railways proliferated Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches which have higher speed potential, converting passenger trains operating with conventional coaches into MEMU services (which have higher acceleration/deceleration owing to distrusted power). As a part of “Mission Raftaar” and during the period 2015-16 and 2021-22, 414 passenger train services have been converted into MEMU services. During the financial year 2016-17 to financial year 2020-21, Average speed of freight trains has increased from 23.7 kms/hr to 41.2 kms/hr.
Vande Bharat Trains
Vande Bharat Trains are the testimony of ‘Make in India’ initiative as it is fully manufactured at the IFC, Chennai. It is designed to achieve the maximum speed of 180 kmph which makes it the first semi-high speed train of India. As of now it covers 22 states across India with 18 routes and 36 train services.
Bullet Train
The on-going Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, popularly known as the Bullet Train project, is India’s first high-speed project to be completed by 2026 of which 30.15% physical construction work is completed till 31st March 2023. With technical assistance from Japan, the project aims to connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad through a state-of-the-art high-speed rail network – The 508.17 kms route. The fact that this erection was completed using Made in India Full Span girder launcher is also notable. The 1,100MT full-span launching apparatus was designed and produced domestically by M/s Larsen & Toubro at Kanchipuram, Chennai. It is created in collaboration with 55 Micro-Small Medium Enterprises (MSME). India has joined the exclusive club of nations that design and produce such equipment as Italy, Norway, Korea, and China.
Dedicated Freight Corridor
Indian Railway is constructing more than 3000 Km of Dedicated Freight Corridor(DFC), which would enable freight trains to run at speed of 100 kmph. The Eastern dedicated freight corridor starts from Sahnewal (Ludhiana) in Punjab and ends at Dankuni in West Bengal. Due to this project the 351 km ‘New Bhaupur-New Khurja section’ will decongest the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line & double the speed of freight trains from 25 km/h to 75 km/h. The Western dedicated freight corridor starts from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai. Around 70% of the freight trains currently running on the Indian Railway network are slated to shift to the freight corridors, leaving the paths open for more passenger trains.
Focus on safety
Safety has remained a top priority for the Indian Railways. The installation of advanced signalling systems, the elimination of unmanned level crossings, and the introduction of the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), popularly known as KAVACH, and the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) in certain sections are a few examples. KAVACH will now be installed on 34000 RKM at a cost of 13000 Cr while the first phase on Delhi – Mumbai & Delhi – Howrah route will be operational next year. In the last 9 years, 1.78 lakh crore Safety expenditure has been done including 1.09 lakh crore on track renewal due to which Railway accidents have reduced from 0.10 to 0.03 per million train kilometres as compared to the year 2014. 90% CRS recommendations have also been accepted by the Ministry of Railways in the last 5 years. Apart from that, 2.5 times more expenditure on railway safety has been done between 2014 – 2023 as compared to 2004-2014.
A stride towards sustainability
Before 2014, a total of 21,000 km of Railway lines were electrified whereas in the last 9 years only, this number stands at a whopping 37,000 km. In order to embark on eco-friendly transportation, the Central Railway, which is now fully electrified on all broad gauge routes, has helped reduce carbon footprints by 5.204 lakh tonnes every year and also saves Rs. 1670 crore annually. The Indian Railway is working in mission mode to become the largest green railway in the world and is moving towards becoming a “net zero carbon emitter” before 2030. Central Railway has achieved 100% Railway Electrification on all broad gauge routes (3825 route kilometres).
Railway bridges touching the sky
In an article penned by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, he writes, “The near completion of the world’s highest rail arch bridge, the Chenab bridge, and India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, the Anji Khad bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, are adding to India’s glory. The successful train trial through India’s first underwater railway tunnel and station under the Hooghly River in Kolkata adds to these engineering marvels.”
I believe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the tireless railway ministry served as catalysts for #9YearsofSeva for the citizens of India. These nine years, 2014–2022, are the years of transformation, innovation, and revolution in the Indian railway sector.
Author : Kaveri Madhak
Author Description : Kaveri Madhak is pursuing her master's in mass communication and journalism, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. She is currently interning at Gujarat Samachar, Ahmedabad. She is doing research on 'Hindu activism and advocacy through social media: A case study of selected twitter handles'. Her articles have been published on various renowned platforms like Hindu Post, OpIndia and India Fact.
Disclaimer : The views, thoughts, or opinions expressed in this blogs belong solely to the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of author’s employer, organisation, committee or any other group or individual.
