LARRDIS 1 March 2021

LARRDIS (Lok Sabha Secretariat) New Delhi

BACKGROUND NOTE

on

“Indian Railways”

(For the use of Members of Parliament)

March 2021

______The brief note is intended to serve only as a background aid to the Members of Parliament. It is for restricted circulation and not for publication in any form.

[Prepared by the Infrastructure and Energy Desk, Reference Division. Officers associated with the preparation – Shalima Sharma, Joint Director, Shri Pradosh Panda, Director and supervised by Smt. Kalpana Sharma, Additional Secretary. Feedback is welcome and may be sent to refdiv- [email protected]]

LARRDIS 2 March 2021

INTRODUCTION

Indian Railways has a crucial role in the economic growth and development of our country. Be it carrying agriculture produce to distant places, aiding growth of industries and connecting major ports, railways have significantly helped in bridging the distance between the different places and regions of our country. As a relatively cheap mode of transport, it has been a preferred mode of travel and one of the instruments in national integration. Railways have also a played vital role in mitigating the suffering of people in natural calamities, drought, floods, famines, earthquake etc. Railways are specially suited to carry bulky materials like coal, petroleum and oars etc. Over the years the railway engines have developed from steam to diesel and now majorly to electric. This has added to make the train services super fast which has in a way contributed to quick movement of passengers and materials. With over 67,580 route kms, Indian Railways is the third-largest network in the world. During the year 2019-20, Indian Railways carried 1.2 billion tonnes of freight and 8.1 billion passengers – making it the world’s largest passenger carrier and fourth-largest freight carrier. It has adopted technological changes including through development of specific indigenous systems in signalling to avert train collision and to enable real time management of trains, in keeping with the Atamnirbhar Bharat Mission and by maintaining cleanliness standards under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

CHALLENGES

Measures have been taken from time to time to improve the financial position of the railways. In losses to railways operating ratio is very often cited factor. This factor stretches across almost all the zones of Railways. In the wake of the Covid 19 operation of all passenger trains stopped due to lock down. The operating losses to the Railways across all zones amounts to decline by Rs.36,9903.82 crores in comparison to last year.

It may however be noted that to ensure that the supply of essential commodities throughout the country is not disrupted. Indian Railways introduced parcel special train services during covid times. Shramik specials were organized in a mission mode to move migrant workers, pilgrims and students stranded in various States during the lockdown. Starting from 1 May to 31 August 2020, 4621 Shramik Specials have been operated as per demands of State Government.

Land acquisition has been one of the main causes for delay in projects, added to which there has been the general slow down in all constructions and field work due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Hopefully

LARRDIS 3 March 2021 with fresh availability of funds and a easing off of the contagion, stalled projects will be completed as scheduled, making Indian Railways "future ready" to run the additional private trains safely and punctually.

During the lock-down on account of COVID-19 pandemic, the operations of all passenger carrying trains was stopped, which shut-down the movement of essential commodities that had been moving by parcel services. To ensure that the supply of essential commodities throughout the country is not disrupted, Indian Railways introduced parcel special train services,. The first time-tabled parcel special train was run by the Indian Railways on 31 March 2020.

The time-tabled parcel special train services were continued even when passenger carrying train services got restored. Till 25 December 2020, the Indian Railways have operated 7,267 parcel special trains, out of which 7,014 had been time-tabled services. Approximately 6.6 lakh tonnes of consignments were transported through these services.

Shramik specials were organized in a mission mode to move migrant workers, pilgrims and students stranded in various States during the lockdown. Starting from 01.05.2020 upto 31st August 2020, 4621 Shramik Specials have been operated as per demands of State Government.

Railway Safety- The Indian Railways accord the highest priority to railways safety and have been taking various measures on a continuous basis to prevent accidents and to enhance safety. As a result, the number of train accidents has come down from 104 in 2016-17 to 55 in 2019-20 despite a substantial increase in the traffic volume carried by the Indian Railways during the same period.

Rail Accidents

FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 Collisions 5 3 0 5 1 Derailments 78 54 46 40 7 Manned Level 0 3 3 1 1 Crossing Unmanned Level 20 10 3 0 0 Crossing Fire 1 3 6 8 1 Miscellaneous 0 0 1 1 0 Total 104 73 59 55 10

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BUDGETARY SUPPORT

The Union Budget 2021-22 was presented in the Parliament on 01 February 2021, which was the first Digital budget in the backdrop of unprecedented Covid-19 crisis.

It is a known fact that infrastructure development pertaining to railways in our country has been a regular and a continuous move since independence. Keeping in view the need of creation of new lines, expansion of traffic facilities and doubling of railways lines etc in the Union Budget 2021-22, Railways has highest ever total plan capex of Rs.2,15,058 crore. This works out to 53% higher than the budget estimates of 2020-21(upto Dec.2020).

Budget Estimates 2020-21 and 2021-22

Heads BUDGET BUDGET ESTIMATES ESTIMATES 2021- 2020-21 22

Gross Budgetary Support 70250 107300

Internal Resources 7500 7500

Extra Budgetary Resources 83292 100258

Total Capex 161042 215058

Freight and Freight Revenue

Freight Freight Revenue Year (in Million Tonnes) (in Crores)

2017-18 1159.55 Rs. 1,17,055.40

2018-19 1221.48 Rs. 1,27,432.72

2019-20 1208.41 Rs. 1,13,487.89

INITIATIVES

The initiatives proposed in the Union Budget 2021-22 are - (i)The Sonnagar – Gomoh Section (263.7 km) of Eastern DFC will be taken up in PPP mode in 2021-22. Gomoh-Dankuni section of 274.3 km will be taken up in short succession;(ii)Future Dedicated Freight Corridor Projects namely East Coast corridor from

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Kharagpur to Vijayawada, East-West Corridor from Bhusaval to Kharagpur to Dankuni and North-South corridor from Itarsi to Vijayawada will be undertaken. Detailed Project Reports will be undertaken in the first phase; (iii) 100% electrification of Broad-Gauge routes will be completed by December, 2023. Broad Gauge Route Kilometers (RKM) electrified is expected to reach 46,000 RKM i.e., 72% by end of 2021 from 41,548 RKM on 1 Oct 2020; and (iv) While Focusing on Passenger Convenience and Safety, the budget has also proposed Introduction of the aesthetically designed Vista Dome LHB coach on tourist routes to give a better travel experience to passengers; and Provision of indigenously developed automatic train protection on High density network and highly utilized network routes of Indian railways. This system minimized the possibility of train collision due to human error.

Comparative Budget Estimate

Plan Head BUDGET BUDGET Increase over BUDGET ESTIMATES ESTIMATES ESTIMATES 2020-21 2020-21 2021-22

New Lines 26971 40932 52%

Doubling 21545 26116 21%

Traffic Facilities 2058 5263 156%

ROB/RUBs 6204 7122 15%

WAY FORWARD

The lockdown period was used as an opportunity by the Railways to complete more than 200 critical maintenance projects including massive track maintenance exercise, overhauling the freight business and fast tracking of the ongoing infrastructure projects like Dedicated Freight Corridors, J&K and North-East connectivity etc. In the post lockdown phase, remarkable revival in IR’s freight loading has been observed especially in the last 5 months, which shows the economic revival in the country as well as modal shift to Railways. This is due to doubling of average speed of freight trains from 23 kmph to 46 kmph, various tariff and non-tariff measures, as well as a first time ever “Freight Business Development Portal” for online booking of freight. The year is likely to close with higher loading over last year.

The Government has been taking measures on a continuing basis to improve the financial position and to bring the Operating Ratio to a reasonable level. The endeavour comprises of a combination of initiatives aimed at maximizing revenue receipts and minimizing controllable revenue expenses. Revenue

LARRDIS 6 March 2021 enhancing measures, inter alia, include targeting progressively higher traffic throughput, expansion of commodity basket, effective and innovative marketing strategies to capture more and more traffic, creation of additional capacity and optimum utilization of the existing rail infrastructure including rolling stock, enhancement in productivity and efficiency, improvement of passenger interface, periodic rationalization of fare and freight rates and focus on increasing the share of non-fare revenue sources in Railways’ total revenue.

A long term strategic plan called the National Rail Plan has been developed to plan infrastructural capacity enhancement along with strategies to increase modal share of the Railways. The National Rail Plan is a common platform for all future infrastructural, business and financial planning of the Railways. The objective of the Plan is to create capacity ahead of demand by 2030, which in turn would cater to growth in demand right up to 2050. As part of the National Rail Plan, Vision 2024 has been launched for accelerated implementation of certain critical projects by 2024;Future projects for implementation beyond 2024 in both track and signalling have been identified with clear cut timelines for implementation;Three Dedicated Freight Corridors, namely East Coast, East-West & North-South identified along with timelines. PETS survey already underway; andSeveral new High Speed Rail Corridors have also been identified. Survey on Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Rail already under way.

The National Rail Plan envisages an initial surge in capital investment right upto 2030 to create capacity ahead of demand and increase the modal share of the Railways in freight by 45%. Ministry is trying to develop additional capacities to meet the transport demand of growing economy and increase its modal share. MoR has identified Super critical and critical projects which will be completed in time bound manner and add to its through-put.

PLANS AND PROGRAMMES

The thrust of Annual Plan 2021-22 is on infrastructure development, throughput enhancement, development of terminal facilities, augmentation of speed of trains, signalling systems, improvement of passengers/users’ amenities, safety works of road over/under bridges etc. Therefore, focused allocation has been made for these projects. Planheads New Lines (Rs. 40,972 cr), Doubling (Rs. 26,116 cr), Traffic Facilities (Rs. 5,263 cr), Road Over/Under Bridges (Rs. 7,122 cr), Signalling (Rs. 2,448 cr) and Passenger Amenities (Rs. 7,800 cr) have been allotted highest ever outlays in BE 2021-22. National Projects of Jammu

LARRDIS 7 March 2021

& Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and North Eastern region allocated highest ever outlay of Rs. 12,985 cr.

In Lok Sabhaon during the general discussion on Budget on 10 February 2021, some Members observed that the Capital Expenditure in the Budget for Railways has been Rs.1 Lakh crore. It also equally takes into consideration of construction of three dedicated freight corridors. Members also took note of the point that there have been several changes made for Train Protection system to eliminate train collision. In this regard the indigenously developped automatic train protection system called Vista Dome that eliminates train collision has been initiated. Members also appreciated measures taken for passengers convenience in the budget.

Railway Projects Total 676 projects worth Rs 14.55 Lakh Cr are part of National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) project of Ministry of Railways. Out of 676 projects, 104 projects, costing Rs 3.62 Lakh Cr, are under concept stage, 92 projects, costing Rs 1.37 Lakh Cr, are under development stage and 470 projects, costing Rs 9.52 Lakh Cr are under implementation stage. 10 projects have been completed during current year. The NIP projects include Dedicated Freight Corridor (3 existing and 3 future), Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail(MAHSR), Semi-high speed (Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah), Signaling, Doubling/Multi tracking, New line, Gauge conversion, Loco and loco sheds, Rolling stock, Energy management, Railway Electrification, Track machine, Telecom, Terminal facility, Road Over Bridges/Road Under Bridges, Bridges, Metro transport (sub-urban), Track renewal and Private train project.

During current year (FY2020-21), till Q3 (up to Dec’2020), capital expenditure of Rs 1,04,825 Cr made out of which about Rs 73000 Cr is on NIP projects. Proposed capital expenditure for FY 2021-22 is about Rs 2.15 Lakh Cr, out of which about Rs 1.68 Lakh Cr shall be on NIP projects. About 21 projects are planned to be commissioned during FY 2021-22 and tenders worth Rs 85000 Cr are to be awarded during FY 2021-22.

Kisan Rail Services The Union Budget 2020-21 made an announcement to run the Kisan Rail services to provide better market opportunity by transporting perishables and agri-product, including milk, meat, and fish. Railways have actively pursued with various stakeholders – including the Ministry of Agriculture, state governments, and local bodies – to rollout the Kisan Rail services. The Railways has so far operated Kisan Rail services on thirteen routes. Till 8 January 2021, a total of 120 trips of Kisan Rail have been operated, transporting more than 34,000 tonnes of consignments. Swachh bharat Abhiyan Indian Railways launched a special cleanliness campaign under Swachh bharat Abhiyan on 2nd October 2014. Under the cleanliness campaign, the IR has installed the bio-toilets in all passenger coaches.

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Freight Corridors (DFC) The Prime Minister of India has commissioned and dedicated the DFCs to the nation i.e, Bhaupur to Khurja (351 km) of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) on 29.01.2020; and Rewari to Madar (306 km) of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) on 07.01.2021.Prime Minister of India has dedicated the DFC to nation.

Atmanirbhar Bharat Indian Railways has progressed significantly on path of Atmanirbhar Bharat significantly with a number of policy reforms taken in 2020. With consistent Campaign efforts, import has reduced to less than 1.6% as compared to 5.6% in year 2013- 14.The steps taken to boost Atma Nirbhar Bharat are Import in procurement reduced from 5.6% in 2013-14 to 2.5% in 2018-19;More than 95% of Electric Locomotive components sourced indigenously; Indigenous Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS);Gearing up Exports : Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) exported 7 Diesel Locomotives Sri Lankan Railways; Increase in Electric Locomotive Production increased by 30 % ;LHB coaches production increased by 42 %; Axle capacity of Rail Wheel Factory (RWF) being enhanced ;Rail Ispat Nigam Ltd coming up at Rae Bareli for indigenous production of wheels;Indigenous manufacturing of Track machines at Faridabad (Haryana), Karjan (Gujarat); and Bangalore (Karnataka); and Initiation of process for procurement for 44 rakes of Vande Bharat Trains.and production of powerful 12000HP engines at Madhepura

The Prime Minister expressed happiness that the impact of Make in India is visible in the metro or railway systems being constructed in India nowadays. From laying tracks and modern locomotives to modern trains and modern coaches, goods and technology used in large quantities has become indigenous. This has sped up the project execution and increased the quality of construction.

The Prime Minister said West Bengal has been an important center of self- reliance in the country and that there are immense possibilities of international trade for West Bengal and the North East. The Prime Minister said with these new rail lines, life will be easier, new avenues will also be available for the industries.

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References

1.Economic Survey 2020-21, Volume-II, 294-296 https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/doc/vol2chapter/echap08_vol2.pdf

2. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/railways-to-run-shramik-special-trains-to-move-migrant-workers-other- stranded-persons/article31481996.ece

3.PIB Release dated 01.02.2021 https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1694109 4. Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 429 dated03.02.2021 http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/175/AU429.pdf 5. PIB Release dated 03.02.2021 https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1694857 6. PIB Release dated 26.12.2020 https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1683803

7.Lok Sabha Debates dated 10.02.2021 page 361 http://loksabhadocs.nic.in/newdebatemk/17/5/10022021/Fullday.pdf

8. PIB release dated 22.02.2021 https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1699972

9. Information obtained from Ministry of Railways