The Indian Railways in the year 2021 witnessed unprecedented growth in the development of infrastructure, innovation, capacity expansion of the network, freight diversification, etc.
One of the largest railway networks in the world, the Indian Railways is spread over 67,956 km, with 13,169 passenger trains and 8,479 freight trains, plying 23 million travellers and 3 million tonnes (MT) of freight daily from 7,349 stations.
The Government of India has been focused on investing in railway infrastructure by implementing multiple investor-friendly policies including Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to improve infrastructure for freight and high-speed trains. In fact, several domestic and foreign companies are currently looking to invest in Indian rail projects.
Major Policy Initiatives undertaken by the Government for the development of Indian Railways;
1. Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal Policy was launched to fast track the approvals and ease of establishing Cargo Terminals to increase the freight loading share of IR
2. Kisan Rail:
The Indian Railways started running Kisan Rail Service to transport perishables and agri-product, including milk, meat, and fish. With the Kisan Rail Service, the government has connected railways with agriculture to its advantage.
The government announced Kisan Railways in the Union Budget, 2020-21 and launched it for perishable items in September 2021. The first Kisan Rail Service was flagged off between Devlali (Maharashtra) and Danapur (Bihar) on 7th August 2021.
Currently, 1806 Kisan Rails are running on 153 routes (up to 24 Dember, 2021) and have carried around 5.9 lakh tones of agricultural products
3. Bharat Gaurav Trains:
Indian Railways has launched a new tourism product i.e. theme-based tourist circuit trains called ‘Bharat Gaurav’ that tap the vast tourism potential of India and showcase the rich cultural heritage of the nation.
Under this policy, registered Service Providers shall be offered rakes consisting of ICF coaches under the “Right to Use” model by Indian Railways (IR) for operations of Bharat Gaurav Trains. With these theme-based trains, the service providers spread across the country will be able to showcase untapped yet historically significant rich treasures in India.
They would also be able to refurbish the coaches and have been given full flexibility to decide the themes, tariff, interior designs and other business modalities.
4. Oxygen Express
During the peak COVID19 second wave in India, the IR launched “Oxygen Express” trains for the transport of medical oxygen (LMO) liquid and oxygen boxes across the country.
Upon receiving requests from various states, Indian Railways initiated the supply of liquid medical oxygen tanks by operationalizing Oxygen Express through green corridors in a bid to ensure faster transportation.
Within the last 1 year, IR has made huge progress in the delivery of Oxygen on wheels;
a.) 8 Oxygen generating plants have been installed and are functional in Railway hospitals. 17 more Oxygen plants have been sanctioned and at different stages of commissioning.
b.) 69 Railway hospitals are providing treatment to railway staff affected by Covid-19. In these hospitals, the number of beds for Covid treatment has been increased from 2539 to 3948.
c.) Total COVID beds have increased to 6972, ICU beds from 273 to 404, invasive ventilators from 62 to 3544, additional 449 non-invasive ventilators and 129 high flow nasal oxygen machines. Also, 3420 oxygen cylinders, were supplemented in Railway Hospitals.
*Indian Railways’ green initiatives*
In the Year 2021, the government undertook multiple projects in order to create a conducive environment for the development of Green Railways;
Today, IR is working in mission mode to become the largest Green Railways in the world and is moving towards becoming a “net zero carbon emitter” before 2030. In its fight against climate change, the Ministry has taken several steps which include electrification of tracks, replacing traditional toilet systems with bio-toilets, committing to plastic reduction, and more.
These initiatives are governed by principles of environmental conservation, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness in day-to-day operations.
a.) Net Zero Railway
In a bid to become a “net zero carbon emitter” before 2030, Indian Railways has switched to renewable sources of energy and installed solar rooftops. It has established solar rooftop plants at over 1,000 stations and 400 service buildings. Further, 100% LED replacement has been done at all stations, offices, and residences of the Railways. Additionally, 39 workshops, 7 production units, 8 loco sheds, and 1 store depot have also been certified ‘GreenCo’.
b.) Railway electrification
The Indian railways has been implementing measures to achieve 100% electrification of railways under its National Rail Plans. From 2014 onwards, the pace of railway electrification has increased by nearly 10 times.
Currently, the IR has electrified 1924 Route km up to 30 December 2021 against 1903 Last year during the period.
Further, according to the Ministry, by December 2023, the Indian railways will achieve 100% electrification. By the end of 2023, a target of 23,765 (RKM) is set to be achieved.
The electrification of railway tracks helps reduce pollution, save costs, and increase speed. Moreover, with the electrification of railways, dependence on imported oil would also reduce and is a step towards building an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
c.) Switching to Bio-toilets
Through the installation of bio-toilets in the entire fleet of coaches, the Indian railway has eliminated nearly 4,000 tonnes of excreta dropping on the tracks daily. This has led to saving on maintenance costs and reduced 54 lakh litres of water consumption every day.
With a plan to create a ‘future ready’ Railway system by 2030, IR released a National Rail Plan (NRP) for India – 2030. The objective of the Plan is to create capacity ahead of demand, which would cater to future growth in demand right up to 2050 and also increase the modal share of Railways to 45% in freight traffic.
With unprecedented growth in 2021, the Indian Railways is looking towards another year of infrastructure growth with innovative and sustainable initiatives in the pipeline.
