Budget 2023: Major ongoing initiatives of the Indian Railways and Increase in Capital Expenditure [Read Report]

The Economic Survey 2023, tabled before the parliament by the Financial Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and prepared by the Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran, reviewed the performance of the Indian economy to date and sheds some light on the economic road ahead for the next fiscal year.

The Government’s thrust on Capital expenditure, particularly in the infrastructure-intensive sectors like roads and highways, railways, and housing and urban affairs, has longer-term implications for growth.

A major transport infrastructure, that can very well be called India’s lifeline, and which had a huge role to play in national integration and regional development, is the railways. . The Indian Railways (IR), with over 68,031 route kms, is the fourth largest network in the world under a single management, the state.

It was observed that, In the case of revenue-earning, freight traffic was sustained by IR despite the Covid-19 shock. Between FY20-21 and FY21-22, there was a sharp increase in the freight traffic, reflecting the strong revival in the economic activity in the domestic economy. During FY22-23 (up to November 2022), Indian Railways (IR) carried 976.8 million tonnes of revenue-earning freight traffic (excluding KRCL), as against 901.7 million tonnes during the corresponding period in FY21-22 (excluding KRCL), which translated into an increase of 8.3 per cent.

Further showing that the capital expenditure (Capex) on infrastructure in railways has received a tremendous boost since 2014, the economic survey report went on to state the progress made in laying tracks. It stated “It has seen a continuous increase in the last four years with Capex (B.E.) of ₹2.5 lakh crore in FY23, up by around 29 per cent compared to the previous year. During the current financial year (till 12 December 2022), IR has already completed 2022 Track Kilometers (TKM) which includes 109 TKM of New Line, 102 TKM of Gauge Conversion and 1811 TKM of multi-tracking projects.”

In comparison, during the last financial year this figure was reached only during the first week of March.

“From FY2014-22, across IR, 20,628 km sections (3,970 km New Line, 5,507 km Gauge Conversion and 11,151 km doubling) have been commissioned at an average of 2,579 km/year, which is 70 percent more than the average commissioning during 2009-14 (1,520 km/year)”, the report further stated.

A six-fold increase in electrification was also observed in the railway sector.

The ongoing and completed initiatives of the Government in Railways were also highlighted in the economic survey of 2023. The major initiatives are : –

1. Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project: The MAHSR project, which  was sanctioned by the government in 2015, with technical and financial cooperation from Government of Japan, is under execution and survey & design aspects of it have been finalized.

2. Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project: One of the most ambitious and biggest ever infrastructure project in the railways, which comprises construction of two dedicated freight corridors, i.e., Eastern and Western DFCs along the golden quadrilateral, will offer higher transport output in the country with reduced transit time and cost.

3. GatiShakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT): GCTs are being developed by private players on non-railway land as well as fully/ partially on railway land, based on demand from industry and potential of cargo traffic. 21 GCTs have been commissioned and more than 90 more locations have been provisionally identified for development of GCTs (as of 31 October 2022). This will boost investment from industry in the development of additional terminals for handling rail cargos.

4. Induction of semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Train Sets: Semi High-Speed Self-Propelled Vande Bharat Trainsets were manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, with indigenous efforts.

These trains have ultra-modern features like quick acceleration, substantial reduction in travel time, having maximum speed of 160 kmph, on-board infotainment and Global Positioning System (GPS) based passenger information system, etc. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking System: envisages centralized operation of points and signals to enhance safety in train operations. These systems have been provided at 6,322 stations covering 99 per cent stations of Indian Railways (as of 30 September 2022).

5. Development of Hyperloop technology: Hyperloop is an emerging transportation technology that can be faster and greener than airplanes and railways. In this system, vehicles run in the levitating state (with the help of Linear Induction Motors/Electromagnets) and in vacuum environments. The technology is still in the development phase. Indian Railways intends to develop a demonstrative project on Hyperloop Technology. Indian Railways has collaborated with IIT Madras for developing Hyperloop Technology by setting up Centre of Excellence for Hyperloop Technology at IIT Madras at the cost of ₹8.34 crore.

6. Kisan Rail trains were introduced in FY21 to enable speedy movement of perishables from production or surplus regions to consumption or deficient regions. Up to 31 October 2022, Indian Railways have operated 2,359 Kisan Rail services, transporting approximately 7.91 lakh tonnes of perishables including fruits and vegetables.

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