Track to efficiency: Railway Development Authority
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/track-to-efficiency-on-creating-a-rail-development-authority/article17873780.ece
The Hindu, April 8, 2017
Editorial
Track to efficiency
The Hindu, April 8, 2017
Editorial
Track to efficiency
Excerpts:
One of the big challenges before the Centre is to
facilitate higher non-budgetary investment in the railways. The Bibek Debroy
Committee found the private sector is discouraged from participating more
effectively due to a monopolistic framework. Coming up with a system that
de-risks private investment and creates a level playing field are among the
major challenges before the Rail Development Authority. In the area of
passenger services, this offers several possibilities; the railways cater to
some 23 million passengers a day in a network of about 8,000 stations. The
experience of consumers in cities shows that use of information technology to
deliver traditional services can lead to higher levels of efficiency and lower
costs, besides adding jobs. While regulation of tariffs matching the quality of
travel can help raise revenues, the system should be able to move both people
and freight faster in order to grow. Inducting faster, more comfortable trains
on 500 km-plus inter-city routes would attract new traffic, and help operate
cheaper passenger trains to interior areas, as part of the government’s social
obligation. Technology upgrades are essential to raise carrying capacity,
service frequency and speeds. Rail reform is complex and what was undertaken in
Europe during the 1990s, separating infrastructure from operations, is an
interesting model: sequential measures achieved sustainable results, rather
than a package of changes introduced at once.”
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