Indian Railways Thread (Dec 2015)

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 23 Jun 2016 06:59

NITI Aayog explores possibilities of merging Rail Budget with General Budget

New Delhi: The Central government is thinking about doing away with a separate Rail Budget. After railway minister Suresh Prabhu stripped the last two Rail Budgets of populism, serious deliberations are underway to merge the financial aspects of railways with the General Budget presented by the finance minister.

“The PM has sought a plan paper on the road-map to merge the Rail Budget with the General Budget. NITI Aayog has been tasked with the exercise and been given a month’s time to submit the plan paper. Consequently, NITI Aayog has begun consultations with the Railway Ministry and other stakeholders,” said a source.

With the railways carrying more than 2 crore passengers each day, besides moving more than a billion tonne of freight annually, it has, over the decades, commanded strong political aura. “Since Mr Prabhu has done away with the politics involved in the Rail Budget by stopping announcements of hundreds of new trains and projects, the Rail Budget has of late been essentially financial papers, which could well be accommodated in the General Budget,” added a source.

Sources revealed that Mr Prabhu has already held consultations with the vice-chairman of NITI Aayog, Mr Arvind Panagariya, regarding doing away with the Railway Budget.

Mr Prabhu is in support of the move and has stated the same to the PM too, said sources close to the development. The move to do away with a separate Rail Budget is being seen within the government as part of the reform process and to allow the Railways to function as a professional entity with minimum political interference.

“Since the constitution of the Rail Tariff Authority is also in the offing, the railways has to migrate from an entity run from New Delhi with a top heavy bureaucracy to autonomous zonal units with business development orientation. The delegation of powers to the zonal heads of the railways along with structural reforms at the top should allow the government to do away with the need for a separate Rail Budget,” sources said.

Former PM Manmohan Singh too had favoured doing away with the exercise of a separate Rail Budget. The Rail Budget, however, gives the Ministry of Railways a place of pride among the other ministries.

Can't say I disagree with the thinking. Rail budgets are a leftover of the colonial era and have lost their relevance. At the end of the budget, the only talking points are, the number of new trains that are (or not) announced and the increase (or lack thereof) in the rail fare.

The constitution of the Rail Tariff Authority, if it materialises, will be key reform with far reaching consequences.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 23 Jun 2016 13:21

Nice move

How much did govt pay for your train ride? See info printed on your tickets

Railways has started printing the subsidy "burden" it is bearing in the train tickets to make passengers aware of the "real cost" involved in the travel.

Indian Railways recovers "only 57 per cent" of the cost of travel on an average that can now be reflected on passenger tickets purchased from counters or online, Railway Board Member (Traffic) Mohd Jamshed said.
"We recover 57 per cent in passenger service and 37 per cent in suburban services and this will reflect on tickets," he said.

PASSENGER AWARENESS STEP
Describing it as an "awareness step", Jamshed said this will make passengers aware of the real cost involved in the travel and how much Railways is bearing the burden.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 23 Jun 2016 15:20

^^ Surprised to see subsidies for the AC class, especially AC First class. That's one thing Ministry of Railways should immediately get rid of.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 23 Jun 2016 20:42

First station modernization bid out. Is Habibganj an important station? 450 crores sounds a bit high.

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/w3rMxL ... rtium.html

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 24 Jun 2016 17:45

More on Habibganj station redevlopment.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 149061.cms

saumitra_j · Post by **saumitra_j** » 24 Jun 2016 21:03

Supratik wrote:First station modernization bid out. Is Habibganj an important station? 450 crores sounds a bit high.

Habibganj used to be a small station just at the outskirts of Bhopal main station (about 7km) close to BHEL in the 80s and 90s. With the development of new Bhopal, this has become a very important station for the local as it is close to areas like Arera colony and the commercial areas of South Bhopal. It has also become a terminus for quite a few trains starting from Bhopal including an intercity to Indore.

sankum · Post by **sankum** » 25 Jun 2016 09:34

The government is making fool of people by saying we are subsidizing your trip by 50% because 50% of more than 1.3 million employees are surplus.

Reduce the number of employees by 50% you save Rs 40000Cr per year allowing money for modernisation and efficient running.

Just privatize Indian Railways.

The present government is doing it in bits and pieces, slowly and surreptitiously to avoid labour unrest which is welcome.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 25 Jun 2016 09:39

Kashi wrote:^^ Surprised to see subsidies for the AC class, especially AC First class. That's one thing Ministry of Railways should immediately get rid of.

There is no subsidy in AC Class, its Second class and Suburban fares which are subsidized by AC fares. 34000 cr loss is for the railways in total.

There are silver bullet easy solutions, cant just fire all the Railway employees, faresneed to go up over 20 years, without UPA Family Lalu- Mamta driven sickness. IR lost a lot in the 5 years when Lalu ran railways when Media IIM Harvard were all praise for him.

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 25 Jun 2016 09:43

Sankumji, please post the relevant reference regarding 50% employee surplus. Furthermore, having x percent employee surplus does not negate the claim regarding subsidy.

sankum · Post by **sankum** » 25 Jun 2016 09:50

I have seen hundreds of employees in form of clerks idling through out the day in their offices and tens of low paying employees working as servants in the officers home. Engineers responsible not going on duty and sitting in homes. In Railways everything is on gods grace that no accident occurs.

Twenty Five years back when the Railway employed 2 million employees A Railway officer in a presentation in our engineering college the required number at just 3 to 4 lakh and the rest 16 lakh surplus for a modern and efficient Railways.

The whole government sector including govt. colleges, PSU and banks are inefficient and corrupt and this is passed on to the citizens of India which result in high cost and inefficient economy and affecting growth.

sankum · Post by **sankum** » 25 Jun 2016 10:28

Indian Railways can be right sized by 2025-30 as non essential employees retire and most of the services are progressively privatized.

kvraghav · Post by **kvraghav** » 25 Jun 2016 11:02

Have you done any analysis regarding the right sizing or is it another aap style shit and run?

sankum · Post by **sankum** » 25 Jun 2016 11:30

AAP STYLE OR BJP STYLE? The difference in only Modi economic vision. Your AAP can wait.

and you can go ga ga over BJP.

For next 3 pay commission Modi will give only 16% pay rise to bloated and inefficient govt employees to bridge the difference in pvt and govt sector pay scales. I respect his economic vision.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 25 Jun 2016 12:06

sankum wrote:I have seen hundreds of employees in form of clerks idling through out the day in their offices and tens of low paying employees working as servants in the officers home.

Can you elaborate on this? Because the operation wing of the Railways seems to be working well, with all the limitations they have. By this I mean, all the drivers, guards, station masters right upto the gate keepers and gang men (the last two are IIRC Class-D employees). Looks like the bulge is once again the "administrative" side of things? Basically the babus working 9-5?? From what I observe it is the cutting edge staff who is actually being over-worked. A driver still has a duty roster which is nearly 10 hours of work/shift, which can extent upto 12 hours. Don't think the cases of SMs and Section Controllers to be much different.

sankum · Post by **sankum** » 25 Jun 2016 12:20

You are right in your observation. There is shortage of workers where real work takes place.

rahulm · Post by **rahulm** » 25 Jun 2016 12:23

Merging rail budget with central budget may be a good bean counter exercise, but if this means greater autonomy for states then I am not sure if this is a good idea. It will end up being a retrograde step.

In india, generally, services delivered and administered by the Centre are of a higher standard than those delivered by the state. Usually, autonomy to states results in the the services becoming a tool of political patronage for the state ruling party and degradation of services - state police versus RPF, CRPF are a good example.

I shudder to contemplate the further deterioration in safety, police, catering, reservation, cleanliness etc particularly in BIMARU if de-centralisation is taken to its logical end.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 25 Jun 2016 13:29

Aditya_V wrote:There is no subsidy in AC Class, its Second class and Suburban fares which are subsidized by AC fares. 34000 cr loss is for the railways in total.

From the same link

If these figures are true, Railways are losing huge sums of money where they need not. Surely First AC and 2nd AC passengers do not merit any subsidy. Arguably, 3 AC passengers need not be subsidised either.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 25 Jun 2016 18:37

Simply replace the 1st AC and 2nd AC bogies with Three Tier AC bogies. Twin benefits of reduced losses and increase in passenger carrying capacity. The haughty passengers of the former 2 class are mostly railway staff or corporate travelers with the odd honeymoon couple thrown in.

subhamoy.das · Post by **subhamoy.das** » 25 Jun 2016 19:56

Most govt organizations are run in the mode of "service to people" and hence does not care to make profits and runs on a heavy doze of dole from the tax payers money. So essentially these organizations are returning back some of the tax money in the form of subsidy to mango people. What is wrong with that. All tax paying folks must travel on train and get subsidy. Air fares should also be subsidized. This is the only way that a honest tax paying citizen gets some benefit of his or her tax money

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 25 Jun 2016 20:33

I disagree. That is throwback to socialist era. That money can be better put into other services where there is lack of funding. If railways earns 1000 crore more it can spend it on say more tracks which will again benefit the people. Giving people subsidies where it is not required is a waste of resources.

PS: you can argue that if IR was more efficient it could deliver lower ticket prices e.g. I don't see why the cost of 1AC should Rs 7000 when people can travel by air for less. It suggests inefficiencies in the IR.

sankum · Post by **sankum** » 25 Jun 2016 22:04

Konkan Railway had one fifth the employees of comparative IR according to its chairman Shreedran when it was opened.

Just see for yourself the level of efficiency and the money saved. You cant have millions of govt. employee at 20% efficiency at the cost of the 125 crore people of India.

The subsidy is going to idling govt employees instead of dying street children or farmers. The same is the case of govt colleges where the govt is raising fees to reduce subsidy instead of removing surplus staff and adopting international standards of efficiency. It is a government of babus for babus.

The Rs 34000 Cr subsidy is actually not going to passengers but to half a million idling Railway employees.

SRoy · Post by **SRoy** » 25 Jun 2016 23:21

chetak wrote:Nice move

How much did govt pay for your train ride? See info printed on your tickets

Railways has started printing the subsidy "burden" it is bearing in the train tickets to make passengers aware of the "real cost" involved in the travel.

Indian Railways recovers "only 57 per cent" of the cost of travel on an average that can now be reflected on passenger tickets purchased from counters or online, Railway Board Member (Traffic) Mohd Jamshed said.
"We recover 57 per cent in passenger service and 37 per cent in suburban services and this will reflect on tickets," he said.

PASSENGER AWARENESS STEP
Describing it as an "awareness step", Jamshed said this will make passengers aware of the real cost involved in the travel and how much Railways is bearing the burden.

This will backfire.
Already has EPF debacle smell to it.

As many have pointed out, there is no subsidy involved but money getting on inefficient staff.

Arunkumar · Post by **Arunkumar** » 26 Jun 2016 09:52

>>The Rs 34000 Cr subsidy is actually not going to passengers but to half a million idling Railway employees.

Rail employees & PSU staff cant be touched till 2019. Hence resource pooling by alternate means.

sankum · Post by **sankum** » 26 Jun 2016 10:39

Railways earlier retirement rate was 50000 employees/year. With essential recruitment of say around 10000/year net 40000/year can be reduced per year for next 15 years for right sizing by 2030.

The fares will have to go up but ac fares cant exceed Rs 3/ passenger/km which the rate of airlines on bulk routes and for ordinary passenger cant exceed Rs 1/ passenger/km which is the max bus fares.

For ordinary passenger it will have to be Rs0.5-Rs0.75/passenger /km and for AC class Rs1.5-Rs2.0/passenger/km and for bullet train Rs3/passenger/Km at present prices.

But uneconomical routes which don't even meet operational cost stopped and un viable political projects shelved and right sizing of employees are required and no 30-40% payrise in pay as demanded by unions instead of 16% of pay commission as govt sector employees pay are more than double the comparative private sector.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 26 Jun 2016 10:57

They are using their bloated inefficient operations cost no? If things are run efficiently, would they still need this much susbsidy?

kvraghav · Post by **kvraghav** » 26 Jun 2016 19:42

Should we even comment on this trolling attempt where the poster is just posting on speculation? Everyone knows the way to cut manpower is automation and without that, there will be no rightsizing.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 27 Jun 2016 08:17

Railway line between Hassan and Bengaluru to open by year-end

Bangalore: The railway line connecting Hassan and Bengaluru will be operational by the end of this year
...
Nearly 90 per cent of the work related to the railway line had been completed. “The work had been progressing at a slow pace owing to problems with the acquisition of land near Kunigal.

As the problem has been resolved, the pace picked up. The Railways has said that it will be completed by September. In all probability, the train will be running by the end of this year,” he said.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 27 Jun 2016 08:22

Radar & Laser based Terrain Imagining Vision System ‘Tri-Netra’ to help Railways monitor obstructions on tracks

New Delhi: Indian Railways is getting a third eye to look out for obstruction on track ahead to prevent collision or mishap. India will be the first country in the world to use radar and laser based terrain imagining vision system called ‘Tri-Netra’ in railways for monitoring obstructions on tracks. The device will also be able to record all the events on the tracks ahead in for post‐event analysis.

The Ministry of Railways has invited global tender from companies to design, develop and implement Tri-Netra for locomotives in a phased manner. The idea has been mooted by Member Mechanical Railway Board Hemant Kumar and the cost will be decided after companies present their technical bids next week.

Three companies – two from Israel and one UK have shown interests in designing the equipment that can give loco pilot (drivers) vision to see images of objects on track ahead in a range of 1 kilometer on a display panel inside the locomotive.

“It is for the first time that infra red and laser technology is used by any railways in the world to prevent collision. None of the companies have this kind of technology avialable now but they have approached us that they can design it for us,” said sources in the railway ministry, adding the technology so far is only used in combat activities.

Locomotive drivers, while driving the trains, rely purely on visual clues and visual images besides signal to look out for obstruction on track ahead to prevent collision or mishap.The objective is to enable the locomotive driver to visualize and warn about such infringing objects from a reasonable far away distance so as to enable them to apply brakes sufficiently in advance to stop the train.

The technology will be able to do thermal imaging and give picture of obstruction like trees, boulders, humans, stranded vehicles, moving object like another train. As per the last NCRB data, nearly 27,000 people died in train accidents in 2014 with majority of deaths due to fall from trains/collision of trains with people on tracks.

“It is for the company to decide the technology they adopt that meets the end result of pre‐warning the locomotive driver well in advance and give an audio‐visual warning on an ergonomically placed console. The company will quote the price as there is no existing technology presently used anywhere in the world,” said sources.

The equipment will have all the necessary cameras, antennas, sensors for visualizing the track ahead in the direction of motion which shall be mounted on either ends of the locomotive. The display should not distract the driver with flashes, alarms during normal condition but warm them about images likely to pose danger in red colour.

Specifications and design of critical components shall also be approved by RDSO (Research Designs & Standards Organisation), railways research arm, before they are fitted.

Railways want that device must work in day as well as at night, all types of weathers types like dense fog conditions, with uniformly consistent results even in difficult terrain areas.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 27 Jun 2016 09:02

all of this technology is available in bits and pieces under DRDO umbrella and should be designed and customized inhouse, not again with some gora overlords making 80% of the profit.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 28 Jun 2016 05:25

Air India Chief Ashwani Lohani in fray for Chairman, Railway Board post

New Delhi: State-run Air India’s chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani is in the race to be the next chairman of the Railway Board, said two railway ministry officials requesting anonymity.

The current Railway Board chairman A.K. Mital’s term comes to an end in July 2016.

“Apart from Lohani, Member Staff, Railway Board Pradeep Kumar is also in the fray for the chairman’s position. His name is being discussed as well,” said one of the officials quoted above.

The appointment of the Railway Board chairman is made through the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the Prime Minister. Under the current norms, members of the Railway Board and general managers are eligible for the post of the chairman.

Lohani, a 1958-born Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering officer, is at the helm of the loss-making national air carrier which posted operational profits for the first time in a decade during 2015-16 since the merger of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines in 2007. He has also been credited with turning around the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and the India Tourism Development Corporation.

Experts believe that appointing an outsider may help to revamp the Indian Railways.

“The Indian Railway today is at a crossroad where it needs a transformational and visionary leader. It doesn’t make a difference if he is an outsider but he should disrupt the business model of the railways. At present, it has a lot of class system and is totally fragmented. There is no harmony within the railways, everyone works in isolation and the chairman of the Railway Board has become a figurative post,” said former Indian Railway Accounts Service officer Akhileshwar Sahay.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 28 Jun 2016 10:01

Train on the track and the driver not in the cabin for whatever reason??

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-new ... XOvPN.html

Nizamuddin Rajdhani runs without driver for 15 km
New Delhi | Jun 28, 2016

The train engine developed a snag and was reported to have run “driver-less” on a downward slope for about 15 kilometers.

Passengers on the Madgaon-Nizamuddin Rajdhani had a providential escape on Monday, as the train engine developed a snag and was reported to have run “driver-less” on a downward slope for about 15 kilometers.

A staffer of the Hindustan Times – travelling on the train – reported that the train engine developed a fault and stopped inside a long tunnel around 5.50 pm near the Ratnagiri station. Even as the technicians were attempting to fix the problem, the train started moving. According to unconfirmed reports, the driver of the train was in the Guard’s cabin at that time and was able to jump up on the engine after the train slowed down near an upward incline.

Even as senior officials confirmed that the train did run “driver-less” for some time, Konkan Railway Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Gupta asserted that such reports were wrong. He, however, confirmed to the “loco failure” , saying that the “train did roll for some time”. A high level inquiry has been ordered”, Gupta said.
Apparently, the engine’s vacuum brake had become de-activated, resulting the progress of the train on a downward slope. When the train slowed down at an upward incline, the driver applied the brakes and stopped the train. Finally, another engine arrived and dragged the train to Chiplun – the next station.
No casualty or loss of life has been reported

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 28 Jun 2016 11:18

chetak wrote:Train on the track and the driver not in the cabin for whatever reason??

A local Malayalam daily also has now picked on to this story, and the news contents pretty much look the same. There is much more to this, and at first I would like to give the benefit of doubt to IR.
1. 15kms is not a very small distance by any means. Ratnagiri RS seems to be fairly big, with a good yard. So if a train is just running amock, it can be safely rerouted to some yard line and set to derail.
2. No train on IR runs without two drivers (the chief and his assistant). So even if one driver goes all the way to the guard's cabin, the other chap has to be there inside the loco.
3. The guard's brake-van itself has another brake which can be applied. I am surprised that the guard did not apply his brakes. A loco generally has two brakes (one for the loco itself, and one for the loco+rake). The news report is not clear on which of the brakes failed.

At present, I feel there is some error in reporting. For all you know it could be that the train moved at 15KMPH for a short distance. Will check up at the IRFCA forum,where I am sure the experts would be able to expose this incident thread-bare.

A Nandy · Post by **A Nandy** » 28 Jun 2016 20:01

Talgo high-speed train trials to begin from July 7 on Mathura-Palwal route

http://www.financialexpress.com/article ... ns/299467/

Talgo’s coaches are all set to begin speed trials from July 7, a development that takes India closer to its dreams of having semi-high speed and high speed trains. Suresh Prabhu-led Indian Railways is conducting trial runs with Talgo train coaches, which the Spanish company claims can help Railways attain higher speeds, even on the existing tracks.
Sources told FE Online that the coaches will be tried for speeds up to 180 kmph. “The speed trials which will begin on July 7, will continue till the end of July,” sources added. The trial will take place on the Mathura-Palwal route.

-----------------------------------------------

Bullet train to reduce Delhi-Kolkata travel time to 5 hrs: Indian Railways
Travelling time between Delhi and Kolkata will be cut down to as less as five hours by operating a bullet train on the route, a firm commissioned by the Railways has suggested.

http://www.financialexpress.com/article ... ys/291268/

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 16 Aug 2016 05:57

Japan to train IR Rail personnel on operating the first Bullet Train

New Delhi: With Indian Railways venturing into the age of high-speed rail, the government has tied up with Japan to train the manpower required to drive the new age transport system.

Japanese experts will train railway personnel for operating the first bullet train in India. According to railways, there will be a requirement of nearly 10,000 skilled personnel to operate the bullet train as well as the other high speed corridors being developed in the country.

A senior railway ministry official said a training centre will be set up in India where the best of the Indian Railway staff will be trained to operate and maintain the high speed trains.

TRAINING CENTRE TO BE SET UP IN INDIA

Of these, nearly 4,000 staff will be required for the 508 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad bullet train corridor. “Indian train drivers will be trained in high-speed train driving simulator to practice how to control trains in extreme weather conditions and at speeds varying from 50 km per hour to 300 km per hour,” a railway ministry official said.

Apart from the bullet train, the Indian government is taking up work on five long distance high speed corridors and eight other semi-high speed corridors. The first semi-high speed Gatimaan Express between Delhi and Agra The game has not been launched in India yet has already started. The train runs at the speed of 160 km per hour.

ENGINEERS, TECHNICIANS TO BE TRAINED

A railway board official said that to meet the requirement, a pool of highly trained loco pilots and technicians will be created. Unlike the normal express trains, the high speed trains will be driven by two main pilots instead of one assistant pilot.

“Only the senior-most loco pilots, with over 20 years of experience, will be trained initially. Mental ability, quick decision making and medical fitness are critical for drivers on high speed trains.

Once they qualify the physical test, they will be put to training on simulators,” officials said adding the place where the training centre will be set up is yet to be decided. Similarly, the engineers and technicians of Indian Railways will also be trained to repair and maintain these trains as the high speed technology is entirely new to the country.

SAIL-BSP inches closer to produce world’s longest rail

Raipur: The new Universal Rail Mill (URM) of state-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) has achieved the milestone of successfully rolling out the first rail through its Tandem Mill.

The feat would pave way for the steel maker to roll out 130-meter rail from the mill located in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district. The 130-meter rail would be World’s largest rail in a single piece. The new URM is part of BSP’s modernization programme that would scale up capacity to 7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 16 Aug 2016 06:00

Railways plan big shakeup of Officer Cadre

New Delhi: After redesignating Railway Board members on functional lines, the railway ministry is now planning to seek Cabinet approval soon for its next big reform: of merging about 10 different cadres into just two — technical and civil — in a bid to optimise manpower capacity, besides cutting down on red-tapism.

The railway ministry is ready with a Cabinet note based on the recommendations of high-power committees led by Rakesh Mohan and Bibek Debroy respectively for the rationalisation of manpower, that currently stands at about 13.50 lakhs.

“We are not going to stop with redesignation of Board members on functional lines, but are going right at the bottom to eliminate all reasons for the duplication of work and additional workforce. We will soon seek the Cabinet’s nod for the creation of just two cadres — civil and technical — by merging the existing 10 with them,” a senior railway ministry official said.

The Union Public Service Commission, on behalf of the Railways, now recruits officers in various cadres, that include the Indian Railway Traffic Service, Indian Railway Personnel Service, Indian Railway Accounts Service, the Railway Protection Force, and the Indian Railway Services of Civil Engineering, Electrical, Mechanical, Stores, Signals and Medical Services.

“As is the case with MBAs and their specialisation, the technical recruits can similarly specify what they want to specialise in, but we cannot be in a situation where they will stick to their specialisation and not touch other areas. The move will lead to rationalisation of manpower when unnecessarily too many people are tasked to do small things, which can be done by a few,” said the official, who added that the changes in recruitment policy would be notified after Cabinet approval.

The objective of the move, the official said, was to enable the transformation of the officials into managers with their respective specialisation. By creating a cadre of civil officials, the Railways may also open the door for the entry of IAS officers as well as qualified MBAs into managerial positions in the Railway Board as well as in the various zones and divisions.

Earlier, the Railways had redesignated the positions of board members, with the member (engineering) now being member (infrastructure), the member (mechanical) as member (rolling stock) and the member (electrical) as member (traction) to ensure a unified command structure at the higher level, which will be supplemented with changes in the recruitment policy for officials lower down in the hierarchy.

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 16 Aug 2016 15:25

IIRC, Railway board Mechanical members represented Diesel locomotives (WDGs/WDPs) and Electrical members the Electric locomotives (WAGs/WAPs/WCAMs). Does the new designation mean both types of traction come under single command? That sounds quite deep change. Does this also indicated eventual reduction of diesel locos?

Bart S · Post by **Bart S** » 16 Aug 2016 22:30

prahaar wrote:Does this also indicated eventual reduction of diesel locos?

That's the plan:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indi ... 37653.html

A Nandy · Post by **A Nandy** » 17 Aug 2016 21:11

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-t ... ns-2245135

According to the officials, the brouhaha over the Talgo and the trainset project should not divert the attention of the powers-that-be from the 'Make in India' projects currently being pursued by the railways. Many of them have been languishing in files for almost a decade now.

Among them, officials pointed out, were the plans to make a Gas Turbine-powered locomotive, the manufacture of five Dual Mode (electric and diesel) locomotives as well as a High-Speed Diesel Trainset for short passenger routes. The first is being looked after by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the second by the Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi and the third by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.

"Apart from this, the railways has ambitious plans of manufacturing model coaches for the Humsafar, Antyodaya, Deendayalu, Tejas, Uday and Smart brands of rakes. These have to be built between now and January 31 next year," said an official.

Christopher Sidor · Post by **Christopher Sidor** » 18 Aug 2016 18:57

^^^^
The problem is that Diesel and even Gas is that it is still a hydro carbon fuel. And at the end of the day a diesel locomotive or a Gas-Turbine powered locomotive is nothing more than a Big Diesel/Gas tank, on top of which sits a even bigger Diesel/Gas generator. This generator generates electricity, spews out noxious gases, and powers the electric motors. We should plan to phase out Diesel, drop Gas Turbine locomotives and power the entire IR network via Electricity. We can generate electricity via domestic energy sources, hell even Solar can also be used. Reduce the emphasis of Hydrocarbon or carbon energy sources in our energy mix.

ssundar · Post by **ssundar** » 18 Aug 2016 21:06

Don Key wrote:
prahaar wrote:Does this also indicated eventual reduction of diesel locos?
That's the plan:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indi ... 37653.html

This is an interesting change. A few years ago, the same India Today carried an article pointing out that electric trains were much more expensive to run than diesel and were only viable for high density routes. The article at that time focused on a "scam" where IR was electrifying routes that were below that threshold density, thereby making those routes unprofitable to operate.

Seems the variables have changed over the many years to make electrification of all routes net profitable over operating low density routes with diesel?

This would be a topic for a PhD in economics all by itself

.