The Hindu Business Line : `Originating freight loading will receive a big boost'

The prospects for increased cement and steel movement are bright as several hydro-electricity projects are due to come up in the region. — MR A. K. SANWALKA, GENERAL MANAGER, NORTH-EAST FRONTIER RAILWAY

Working in a difficult situation could be challenging and the North-East Frontier Railway provides the perfect setting for that, says Mr A. K. Sanwalka, General Manager of North-East Frontier Railway. A mechanical engineer, Mr Sanwalka, joined the Indian Railways in 1969 and became the General Manager of NF Railway in December 2004. In a free-wheeling discussion with Business Line recently at his office in Maligaon near Guwahati, Mr Sanwalka analysed various issues facing his zone.

Excerpts from the interview:

How would you describe the North-East Frontier Railway — Good, bad, ugly?

I will answer your question in a slightly different manner. NF Railway is unique in many ways. It covers 10 States, some of them sharing borders with countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar, with a network of more than 4,000 km spread over some of the most difficult regions, geographically and otherwise, and a longest stretch, of 1500 km, from Katihar to Ledo. Last December, we operated a special passenger train from Tinsukia to Thiruvananthapuram covering a distance of 4,520 km. Never before in the history of Indian Railways has such a long journey been undertaken by any passenger train. The NF Railway, therefore, has to be judged in the context of its uniqueness. Yes, we've problems and not all of them are amenable to easy solutions but there is a challenge in working in a difficult situation.

What are your major problems?

Too many, and some of them have historical roots. We handle limited volumes of originating revenue-earning freight traffic. In 2005-06, we handled 11.5 million tonnes (mt) and the target for this year has been set at 12 mt and the commodities include coal (about four mt), petroleum products (four mt) and a variety of other commodities such as cement, bamboo, cp coke, rp coke, boulders, dolomite (the balance). At the same time, our inward traffic is much larger, the region being a consuming region than a producing one. We do not earn much on inward traffic originating in some other zones, we get only the apportioned share.

What is so historical about it?

Historically, the NF Railway operated under a quota regime. We did not decide how much freight traffic we would handle. It was decided by the Railway Board almost on a daily basis after taking into account the critical nature of the infrastructure in the region. The number of freight trains to move into the region was decided by the authorities in Delhi. But not any more.

How?

From May 2005, the quota regime ceased to exist. We are now free to handle as many rakes as we like. There is no restriction on the number of inward rakes.

How did it happen?

This has been possible due to the significant improvement in infrastructure in the form of gauge conversion from metre gauge to broad gauge over wide areas and also doubling of tracks from the single line network that existed in most areas. As a cumulative effect of all this, our capacity to handle increased and, with it, the efficiency.

Did all this improvement open up a floodgate of traffic?

Not really. Yes, initially, there was a surge in the volume of traffic, presumably because the pent up demand was released. But the trend did not sustain. This is again because a large chunk of the earlier demand was inflated. In a shortage situation, this always happens. As the shortage eases, the actual demand too finds its own level.

Don't you think the commissioning of the 1,000-km Numaligarh-Rangapani pipeline network in 2009 replacing the present rail movement of petroleum products will cause huge loss to your railway?

Loss yes, but we're not sure if it will be huge. The drop in lead will certainly cause some revenue loss but the loading of wagons may not be totally suspended. Only the loading point will change, from Numaligarh to Rangapani.

Your other problems...

We've two transhipment points, one at Rangiya on the north bank of the Brahmaputra and the other at Lumding on the hills. The 435-km Rangiya section is entirely metre gauge and was always low-priority and therefore neglected. In 2004, train services on certain stretches on this section remained suspended for more than six months.

The Lumding section, stretching to Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram, is spread over hills that are geologically unstable. Rains cause frequent landslips and subsidence. Capping it all, there is an acute law and order problem so much so that on many occasions several stations remained closed and train services remained suspended for days. The recent action by DHD (Dirra Haolim Daogah led by Jewel Garlose faction) is a case in point. There is yet another problem.

What is that?

An acute shortage of trained manpower, particularly, certain categories of staff, such as assistant station-masters and drivers. Frankly, we do not know how to handle it. Recruitment from outside is resented by the local people while the local people themselves do not come up to the stipulated standards.

What is your operating ratio?

In 2005-06, the operating ratio was 140 per cent, a significant improvement over the 250 per cent a few years ago. In 2006-07, we hope to improve it further to 110 per cent.

How do you propose to achieve it?

Earlier, our annual plan outlay used to be Rs 500-600 crore, some times even less. This year, we propose to spend Rs 1,000 crore not only on gauge conversion and doubling of tracks but also on strengthening of the existing tracks. In the Lumding section, the work on upgradation of tracks is in progress and will be complete by 2009. The tracks are being renewed on 120-km stretch between Rangiya and Rangapara on the north bank on dual gauge concrete sleepers. We've given a lot of attention to strengthening of the bridges. We are setting up new full rake sidings at Bhojo and Lakwa. The average speed in our zone is being raised and we hope to achieve 110 km per hour shortly.

What will be the impact of all this on traffic throughput?

I'm sure our originating freight loading will receive a big boost. We've reason to believe so. The coal traffic is set for a jump with the production of coal in Nagaland. While the petroleum traffic has reached a plateau, the prospects of cement and steel traffic have brightened as several hydro-electricity projects are due to come up in the region. Also, several new cement plants are being set up. Steel Authority of India Ltd has decided to set up a stockyard at Azara. Several other projects are at various stages of implementation. We'll have plenty of inward as well as outward traffic. I'm very hopeful.