Restructuring Overview // opinion column from India on India Railways
Bravo!
A gutsy but professionally focused opinion column points out why modernizing the vast but bureaucratic Indian Railways may be a hopeless task.
It’s about politics and the self preservation of jobs and management roles while facing objections from other land users. It is not just a technology fix that is needed.
Here are just a few points that illustrate the issues.
1) BROKEN MARKETING TACTICS
The government has so far lacked the will to increase passenger fares because it is an unpopular suggestion. Instead, they hike up the cost of freight transport to subsidize passenger rides. What India gets as a result is a vicious cycle: Companies (shippers) choose to transport goods via highways because doing so by train has become too expensive and inefficient. That results in a lack of the expected cash flow freight subsidy funding needed to make rail improvements for passenger rail. And to the extent possible by bus or auto, the rail commuters leave the railways for highways.
2) CUT UP THE RAILWAY INTO MORE BUT SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS
One ever popular policy suggestion is to minimize the Ministry of Railways power by making the Indian Railways two independent organizations—one responsible for the track and infrastructure and another for operating the trains. But some do not see that restructuring happening anytime soon. Furthermore, it did not work out well when tried in the UK. Why would it work in India?
It might be better to just fire everyone in charge today and hire an all new monopoly provider.
3) TAKING FOREVER
“If nothing changes, it will take them 100 years just to build the Dedicated Freight Corridor,” say some professional observers. For example, the government hasn’t even started looking at people and land relocation plans in urban area for an alternative, high-speed railway network.
Heck, the Dedicated Freight Corridor execution is already about a decade delayed. That is about the professional in charge lifetime of the current leadership generation (at about 10 to 15 years as the top people in an organization).
TICK TICK TICK The clock is ticking.
So little is happening.
Read the column at: www.citylab.com/commute/2015/10/what-it-will-really-take-to-fix-indias-railways/408664/ Sent from my iPad
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