Pitiable state of the railways

The railway network is considerably widespread in the country. It has always been a comparatively cheaper means of transportation for the public at large. But unfortunately it has not been able to meet people's aspirations for a number of reasons. Over the years, the trains have failed to reach destinations on time. The upholstery and other physical amenities inside the bogeys are rather poor and there has been no real improvement in services over the past decades. The engines are in worst possible condition. While there were 486 engines prior to our independence it has now come down to 286.

As a result, people are using the buses more and more despite the fact that often it costs more to travel by road than by train.

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We thus strongly feel that the entire railway system should be revamped. It could still be the major mode of cheap and safe travel for the people. We could gain from the experience of our neighbour, India, that has one of the largest railway networks in the world used by millions of people and operating reasonably efficiently.

There should be a two-pronged remedial action plan, the short term and the long term one -- both running simultaneously. To begin with, we could embark immediately upon improving services both over the counter as well as in terms of customer facilities within the compartments. A large number of engines need to be repaired. Maintenance which has been a chronically weak area needs to be strengthened.

An all-out effort must be made to increase the number of speedier trains, refurbish the rolling stocks and railway lines and have modern signaling systems in place. If the whole management system is reformed and restructured, there will be no dearth of soft-term loans for the railways' radical improvement.

As the bulk carrier of people and commodities, the railway is second to none. It is truly the people's transport.