The Hindu Business Line : Railways urged to separate track maintenance from services

THE Railways should gradually separate maintenance of tracks and running of services, allowing other agencies to use the facilities on payment of charges, according to a section in the trade and industry.

A beginning has already been made with the emergence of the Container Corporation of India (Concor), which owns rolling stock and contracts for crew and locomotives. More Concor-type organisations with much larger scope of operations should be encouraged in the private sector, the sources emphasise.

There are many benefits to this approach, it is pointed out. The major track user also controls the tracks and looks after its maintenance. The capital investments required by the Railways will be significantly reduced. If the shipper owns the rolling stock, he will try to ensure its full utilisation. If the shipper owns a complete train, including rolling stock and locomotives, it becomes part of his infrastructure.

It has already happened, though in a limited way, in respect of steel plants, aluminium units and refineries. If the shipper can prove that he can run the services more efficiently than the Railways, he can perhaps demand loan at a concessional rate and tax depreciation benefits.

However, for the system to work efficiently, the Railways must take a professional approach in regard to negotiations with the shippers who will want a cost that is lower than by road. As part of his manufacturing logistics, the shipper may opt for specialised wagons.

It is, therefore, necessary to maximise the net to tare ratio, to introduce commodity-specific wagons wherever feasible, to encourage shippers to own their own wagons, if not the full rake, if needed, through attractive offers and capping it all, the Railways' attitude to the shipper must be similar to that of truck operator.

One of the reasons why the roadways has succeeded in throwing a big challenge to the Railways is that the roads, once built, are used mostly by private people while the maintenance of the roads lies with the Government agencies. With the Government having embarked upon aggressive upgradation of the highways, it is only a matter of time before the present eight to 10-tonne vehicles are replaced by much higher capacity vehicles. Already such vehicles, though in limited numbers, are on the roads.

According to one estimate, if 25-tonne capacity trucks are allowed to become universal, then the Railways will stop witnessing growth in traffic and if the 60-tonne capacity trucks emerge on the scene in large numbers, then the Railways will in fact start losing traffic.

In two countries, it is pointed out, the introduction of 60-tonne trucks has brought about revolutionary changes in the railway freight movement.

In South Africa, the Railways is now used for moving only exports of iron ore and coal while in Sweden, it has become the passenger railway, no freight movement.

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