Railways need a big push

The railways have tremendous potential though. First of all, let's not forget, it is the medium that links the economic hinterland to the ports. Second, it is ideally suited to be handling container transportation, which is of critical importance to the dynamism and usage of sea ports. The question of optimal utilisation of ports has assumed much greater significance in view of the big investment proposals coming from Tata, the Indian corporate giant. They will rely greatly on the railways for transporting raw materials to their industrial plants in Ishwardi.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are reported to have agreed to contribute a major portion of the investment that the government is planning to make in the sector. But the donors have put special emphasis on restructuring of the sector as a whole to make it service-and market-oriented. They are in effect asking for corporatisation of the railways in keeping with the modern privatisation trends. The goal is to make it a profitable and highly competitive enterprise.

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The government has to put an end to mismanagement and wastage that have blighted the railways beyond measure. It has to ensure accountability, transparency and dynamism in the sector to bring it back on track.

The government should think of optimally realising the railways' full potential, so that they are not only saved from ruination but also turned into a modern transportation system.