Report favours decentralisation to tackle Mumbai rail traffic woes

Pointing out hurdles in the smooth handling of issues affecting Mumbai’s lifeline — the suburban train system — especially the role played by the Railway Board, a draft report by the Central Railway has called for decentralisation of powers, including one that concerns stopping a train for over four hours.

At present, stopping a train for over four hours in the Mumbai suburban requires the Railway Board’s approval, even if it does not impact local trains that are put into service, says the report that was shared with the visiting members of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) in Mumbai. The draft report will be discussed with the Railway Ministry before finalisation.

The report suggests that at least for implementing works in such sections, powers should be delegated to Maharashtra’s transport department. This would ensure that the State government can “patch” that segment with bus services to help stranded commuters, the report said, favouring total delegation of power to zonal railways.

When asked for their reaction to this, several Railway officials either declined to comment or did not respond to Business Line’s queries.

The report also points out that its proposals tend to get “sabotaged” due to inter-departmental tussles at the Railway Board level. To support its point, it cites an instance where its proposal to have different dimensions of locomotives was shot down, even though such dimensions were implemented by five Railways, Research Designs & Standards Organisation and Diesel Locomotive Works.

The report of the Bibek Debroy committee on the restructuring of Indian Railways said: “Over the years, Indian Railways has grown into an overly centralised and hierarchical organisation. The feeling of departmentalism adversely affects the working culture and has resulted in actions and decisions based on narrow departmental goals instead of on organisational goals and benefits”.

When asked about the report, PAC Chairman KV Thomas told Business Line : “We have received a draft report prepared by the Central Railway on the safety in Mumbai suburban railway services. We will share it with the Railway Ministry to seek their views on the issue. Those views will be included in the PAC’s report after deliberations in the committee.”

Earlier, an Axis Capital report also talked about the issue of departmentalism, delayed decision-making and “vested interests” acting as roadblocks.

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