Technology transformation of Indian railways: Light at the end of the tunnel

This paper investigates the current state of Indian Railways and dwells upon the present and potential challenges. Railways act as one of the major and busiest networks globally; it is a quintessential model of commercial transport for both goods and passengers. Recognized as the largest employer globally, it is hardly surprising that Indian Railways directly employs 6% of the total employment within the organized sector plus a 2.5% employment that gets generated through other entities dependent on it. The Railways boasts of being the fourth-largest rail network world-wide. Thus it is credited as the most accessible, prevalent, and affordable means of both passenger and goods transport. Having said this, it does face tough challenges in terms of catering to the ever-rising population and keeping a check on operational costs, which puts several constraints ahead of it. A committee of experts has been constituted to enforce reforms and improvements in services from time to time. This study tries to reflect upon the reforms proposed by experts with a special focus on Foreign Direct Investment requirements and creating a sustainable Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The study endeavors to benchmark the Indian Railways with the Russian Railways’ recent experience implementing the FDI and PPP models. It suggests a way forward to enforce better private participation and dwell upon policy measures to reform the Indian Railways. The study is qualitative and highlights the constraints and challenges that they pose in people’s service. To analyze the scenario further, we have tried to draw a parallel with relatable economies like Russia and benchmarked with the Russian Railway’s reforms, which could help compare similar reforms in India.