India’s capex cycle may be far from any immediate recovery. Interestingly, selected pockets like power T&D and railways have been keeping India’s engineering companies busy. Railways has started to become far more attractive and a bigger opportunity as projects have started to flow in. In its recent report prepared by the global consultancy firm McKinsey, the firm estimates Indian Railways to invest around Rs 8.5 trillion over the next five years, which is about four times the investment in the last five years.

Safety (Rs 1.27 trillion), station redevelopment (Rs 1 trillion) and high-speed elevated corridor (Rs 0.65 trillion) are other major areas proposed for the investment.

In terms of segment, the global consultancy firm indicated that the largest proportion of the investment will be in network expansion (Rs 1.93 trillion) and network decongestion (Rs 2 trillion) over the next five years.

This is good news for companies in the EPC space as this will be a huge opportunity for companies like KEC International and Kalpataru Power, who are the leading players in this space. KEC International has about 25 percent market share in railway electrification. During the first half of FY18, the company received orders worth Rs 140 crore. However, the company is expecting order flows to improve as it has already submitted bids of close to Rs 7000 crore and expects to get orders of worth Rs 2000 crore in FY18. KEC is one of the early entrants in this space with close to about 5 decades experience. With the traction in ordering improving, it will boost revenue.

Similarly, Kalpataru Power, which is sitting on an order book of close to Rs 9,600 crore or almost 2 times its FY17 sales, it has got a strong pipeline of orders in railways. Considering their capabilities and the expertise Kalpataru Power and KEC will also benefit as a result of electrification of railway lines.

The government intends to initiate electrification of 7000 km of rail lines and tendering is expected to be completed by end of March 2018. The long-term plant is to electrify close to 25000 km of railway lines with the estimated cost of Rs 35000 crore. Currently, of the total rail network of 66000 km only 30000 km of the railway lines are electrified. One other company whose products fits in this category is Siemens, which has already bagged a few projects relating to railway signalling and supply of the other components of the railway network systems.

Moreover, the government is coming out with the larger projects, which will benefit the listed companies as many of them stayed away from bidding given the small size of projects. Companies like L&T is looking at this segment as an opportunity. L&T was recently awarded Rs 1050 crore railway electrification project of 781 km rail tracks.

L&T is looking for the bigger pie of the opportunity considering its capabilities. It is also working for the metro rail, station development and a few other areas in the overall pie.

The whistle of the vintage steam trains will ring even more melodiously across the winding paths amidst the greenery of the Kalka-Shimla and the Nilgiri routes in the months to come.

Addressing a crying need, the Indian Railways have finally decided to place control of the two colonial-era heritage trains—both designated UNESCO properties—under separate and dedicated management units. This is how the new order unpacks: Management and operations of the two toy trains will be yanked out of the administrative control of the divisional headquarters of the Indian Railways and brought under the charge of dedicated and separate administrative units.

“An initiative that will help preserve practices, systems and processes of the rail operations of yore; as it will provide a boost to local economy and tourism. In simple terms, the brand of these two trains will get revived”, rail enthusiast and former financial commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee told.

In a space of 26 years from 1881 to 1907, the erstwhile British rulers built and started operations on five hill routes. Three of these—the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR) apart from the Kalka-Shimla and the Nilgiri trains—have been designated “UNESCO properties”. The fourth—the Matheran Light Railways—is on the tentative UNESCO list.

The DHR, in 2007, was the first of the hill railways to have had a dedicated management unit set up to manage its affairs. The UNESCO mandate has been that a similar model be made applicable for the remaining two hill rail properties that the organisation has accredited.

Heritage conservation has not been a high priority area for the Indian Railways. Until the late sixties, the Indian Railways had had approximately 11,000 steam engines in running condition in its inventory. With a vast majority of these having been cut up and sold off as scrap in the following decades, it has no more than 25 steam engines. The hanging clocks visible at railway stations in the first two decades of the country’s Independence; telephone sets, the uniforms or caps that railways employees or officers wore have mostly disappeared. Some of these items sometimes pop up in the flea markets of Delhi or Kolkata.

Compare this with the scenario in the Western world. The United Kingdom has preserved 1,000 steam engines and operates 100 such trains on heritage lines. In recent years, the country has closed electricity-run trains to replace these by steam-run trains. Majority of the steam routes in the country are financially viable. Thailand—which had a maximum of 200 engines at the peak of its steam era—has preserved 10 locomotives. Four of these are operated as “time-tabled” run trains. In as tiny a country as Switzerland, there exist 100 kilometers of steam lines.

The Indian Railways carries 24 million passengers and operates 19,000 trains each day across its network of 65,500 kilometers: The fourth largest in the world. “Given the pressure of its operations, heritage conservation activities have remained a low priority for railway officials. “While the decision to set up dedicated administrative units for Kalka-Shimla and Nilgiri is a step in the right direction, it does not provide for a complete and lasting solution to the challenges facing heritage conservation”, according to JL Singh, secretary of the Delhi-based Rail Enthusiasts Society.

Singh’s contentions, apparently, are based on the international experience in respect of rail heritage conservation. In a majority of the Western world, tasks of heritage preservation are managed by independent entities such as trusts. Europe has the Federation of Museums and Tourist Railways (FEDIC), while the United Kingdom has the Rail Heritage Trust. Such tasks in Australia are managed by an organisation called “Puffing Billy” in Australia: Named after one of the country’s famous steam locomotive.

“By temperament or training, railways officials are least suited for heritage conservation tasks. We have proposed that such tasks be brought under the control of an “independent entity” with representation from a cross section of individuals such as rail enthusiasts, volunteers or government representatives”, Singh said.

Under the current dispensation, the 172-year-old state-owned transporter has its best chance to revive its heritage. Railways Minister Piyush Goyal is apparently sensitive to conservation needs. At his initiative, rail employees have been asked to move out of the iconic Chattrapati Shivaji Terminal (CST) at Mumbai— earlier known as the Victoria Terminus (VT)—to make space for a museum.

Ashwani Lohani, chairman of Railway Board (CRB) has also been keen on heritage conservation: He is credited to have single-handedly set up a steam shed at Rewari, a two-and-a-half hour drive from the capital. Approximately 10 steam engines have been rehabilitated at the Rewari shed over past few years. Last October, the railways also started a steam run on the Delhi-Rewari route, powered by the “Fairy Queen”, the world’s oldest steam engine.

Thirty per cent of corrective actions suggested by officers regarding safety in railways have remained unaddressed in the last eight months, according to official data.

Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani has now instructed all general managers and divisional railway managers to take immediate measures to stop such “unsafe practises” to achieve the prime objective of safe transportation of passengers and freight.

According to a compliance report on safety related deficiencies during March-October 2017, out of the 5,070 deficiencies reported as on November 27, only 70 per cent were addressed.

The data showed that five per cent of the deficiencies were pending beyond three months which could lead to safety hazards.

Lohani urged officers to maintain the “safety culture” of the railways.

“Safety department monitors implementation of rules/guidelines… Deficiencies pointed out by the safety department during inspections need to be monitored for immediate corrective action to achieve prime objective of safe transportation of passengers and freight,” he said in a letter.

It also highlighted that while Central Railways with headquarters in Mumbai had the highest compliance rate with 93.5 per cent, it was just 50 per cent in North Central Railway headquartered in Allahabad, 54.5 per cent in East Central Railway in Hajipur and around 55 per cent in Eastern Railway in Kolkata.

South Central Railway and Indian School of Business (ISB) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in Capacity Building and Research. The MoU was exchanged by Vinod Kumar Yadav, General Manager, SCR and Prof. Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, ISB on 6^th December, 2017 at Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad. Prior to that, the Dean, ISB and N.V.Ramana Reddy, Principal Chief Personnel Officer, SCR jointly signed the MoU.

The MoU broadly envisages co-operation and engagement between the two entities’ towards Research and Knowledge sharing. The forms of co-operation and engagement cover:

• Hosting of Leadership Lecture Series by faculty from ISB on topics such as Leadership, Strategy Management, Negotiations skills, Change Management etc., which are critical for the Railway Officers.
• Holding of Capacity Building Workshops to train and update Officers of SCR in areas like Performance Management, Strategy Management, Change Management etc., encompassing various topics as Infrastructure, Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, Operations, Revenue Management, Innovations etc.,
• Undertaking Collaborative Research involving both the institutions on critical issues like Brand Capitalization, Customer Satisfaction, Operational Efficiency, Business Innovation etc., which impact the efficiency and service delivery of the organization.
• Vinod Kumar Yadav, General Manager, SCR in his address to all the Principal Heads of Departments, Divisional Railway Manager’s and other Senior Officials stated that this tie up of SCR and ISB is an excellent initiative towards enhancing the Management and Operational Skills of the decision makers, in tune with the present day challenges of the market. Appreciating the positive work culture and team spirit prevalent on SCR, the General Manager said that the track record of the Zone, which has been awarded five performance efficiency shields at All India level last year, speaks of the commitment of the workforce. Vinod Kumar Yadav expressed optimizing that the Lectures, Workshops and Research activities of ISB will infuse a fresh dynamism on SCR and inculcate new perspectives of Management towards success. He thanked the Dean, ISB for formalizing the MoU in a short time, after it was discussed by the two.

  Delivering the first lecture of the series, Prof. Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, ISB espoused the learning philosophy of the Business School, Leadership lessons and value creation. He stressed on Research, Inquiry and Managerial Action as the key elements that enable multi disciplinary thinking, to build up an Organization. Drawing upon history and comparing its similarity with the new world, the Professor spoke of Leaders as Mahatma Gandhi and Abdul Kalam in the same vein as Satya Nadella and Bill Gates who all had a vision and the capability for problem solving.

  Inspiring others is what is needed for a Leader, he opined. He also added that risk taking is essential to challenge status quo and overcome limitations. Speaking on value creation, Prof. Rajendra Srivastava, spoke on Customer Value and Innovation which leads to doing things better. Citing several successful Business Models, the Professor wanted that there shall be competition for a Customer’s Business and it should be won by Operational efficiency. Evolution of a brand is important, he stressed on the Railways to take on competition by means of coming up with plans that match Customer needs. The Professor expressed confidence that Integration of Research and Training will give a new thrust to the Railways. The Lecture was followed by a Question and Guidance session, during which Prof. Rajendra Srivastava interacted with the Railway Officers and shared his thoughts on their questions.

  Amongst the Railway Officials present was, John Thomas, Additional General Manager, SCR. From the ISB, Kumara Guru, Director, External Relations, ISB; Ms. Mamata Reddy, Senior Associate Director, Centre for Executive Education, ISB and Sandeep, Senior Manager, External Relations, ISB graced the program.

  Umashankar Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer, SCR presented the welcome address and conducted the program.

Indian Railways has decided to expedite redevelopment of 400 A1 and A category railway stations across the country. It will now appoint its joint venture company Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) as the nodal agency to speed up the process.

The high-value project to revamp these stations through public private partnership (PPP) will require investments of around Rs 1 lakh crore. The Railways will also monetise 2,700 acres of spare railway land as part of it.

The first phase of the redevelopment was launched in February this year with 23 stations under previous railways minister Suresh Prabhu.

The appointment of IRSDC, a joint-venture between Ircon International Ltd and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), took place following recommendations from a three-member committee of experts, which had submitted its report in November, railway ministry sources told.

The report recommended IRSDC’s appointment as a nodal agency to ensure a speedy redevelopment process because the firm has shown notable performance in handling its model projects in places such as Gandhinagar and Surat.

The redeveloped stations will be designed to provide services such as digital signage, Wi-Fi, escalators, automatic ticket-vending systems for self-service, executive lounges, restaurants, and malls.

The committee suggested IRSDC be the monitoring body for future and existing railway station projects deciding the mode of implementation for such projects.

The committee’s report underlined the firm’s extensive experience in planning station redevelopment, executing and monitoring the projects; other railways departments and ministry officers are lacking in such experience.

Previously, the ministry used overlapping models for its redevelopment programmes carried out by IRSDC by general managers of zonal railways in PPP mode, in collaboration with Ministry of Urban Development, National Building Construction Corporation, or through RLDA and public sector undertakings of the ministry of railways, and so on.

The varied modes of operation led to confusion regarding decisions and overlapping of work. With a singular nodal agency things are expected to become more streamlined, a railway official told.

The IRSDC, on the other hand, said it has not received any communication regarding the appointment yet.

In a significant decision, the Indian Railways has allowed its 13 lakh serving and 14 lakh retired employees and their families to avail medical treatment for serious ailments from private hospitals — including super speciality hospitals, and nursing homes.

According to a senior official of Indian Railways, Ashwani Lohani, Chairman Railway Board (CRB), has authorised and empowered all the 71 Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) to take decision in this matter. The move comes close on the heels of Lohani giving more financial and administrative powers at managerial level.

Until now, Railways employees had to take permission from general managers (GM) at the zonal level or from Railway board to seek treatment outside government and Railway hospitals. If the treatment required less than Rs 10 lakh, permission was given at the GM level, but in case it was above Rs 10 lakh, it required clearance from the Railway Board which led to loss of time in urgent and critical cases.

Now DRMs will be empowered to take decision at their end, which will help employees save time and get the treatment done at the earliest,” the official said.

After a crucial meeting through video conferencing with all the 17 zonal general managers two weeks ago, Lohani had issued a string of directives including this one. The other key decisions included identification of vulnerable sections on Railways lines, deep screening of vulnerable tracks, and increased patrolling of railways tracks during winters.

Deep screening is used to clean excessive rainfall and dropping of ashes and ore when ballast gets choked up and track drainage is impaired. Deep screening restores the resiliency and elasticity of the ballast bed, resulting in improved running quality of track that is less prone to accidents.
OLD RULES

Until now, Railways employees had to take permission from general managers (GM) at the zonal level or from Railway board to seek treatment outside government and Railway hospitals. If the treatment required less than Rs 10 lakh, permission was given at the GM level, but in case it was above Rs 10 lakh, it required clearance from the Railway Board which led to loss of time.

ne of our worst fears during train journey’s in childhood was the fear of getting lost or stranded in a busy railway station. Unfortunately, some kids inevitably lose their way in busy train stations. Something similar happened with Archit, a boy stranded at Jaipur Railway station.

An alert Twitter user on Monday posted a picture of a boy stranded in Jaipur Railway station. He was  unfortunately left behind by his family who boarded the 19329 Udaipur Express. The only information Archit could provide was that his father’s name is Bharat Bhushan.

After the tweet was retweeted close to 100 times with many tagging the Railway Ministry, help was received. Twitter user Phoenix Fire later tweeted that the boy has met his local guardian in Jaipur station. The boy clearly looked shocked in the picture and one can only imagine what would have happened without the intervention of Twitter’s good samaritans.

Here’s how the event unfolded:

 

Over nine lakh senior citizens have voluntarily given up their ticket subsidies under the ‘give up’ scheme of the Railways, thereby helping the transport behemoth save around Rs 40 crore.

Under the scheme launched last year, senior citizens had the option to either avail the full concession provided to them on rail tickets or forgo the entire amount. This year, a new option was added in which a senior citizen can give up 50 per cent of the subsidy. The scheme was launched to reduce the nearly Rs 1,300 crore subsidy burden of the Railways in the senior citizen category.

From July 22 to October 22, 2.16 lakh men and 2.67 lakh women gave up their full subsidy, while 2.51 lakh men and 2.05 lakh women decided not to avail 50 per cent of their subsidy – making the total number of passengers over 60 years to give up their subsidy at 9.39 lakh in three months. During the same period last year, only about 4.68 lakh senior citizens gave up their subsidies – 2.35 lakh men and 2.33 lakh women.

“The figures show that the number of people letting forgoing the subsidy has doubled in one year. It is great news for Railways as we are looking to reduce our losses incurred through subsidies,” said a senior official of the ministry.As of now, Railways bears 43 per cent of the cost of train fare and incurs a loss of about Rs 30,000 crore a year in subsidising passenger fares out of which Rs 1,600 crore is for concessional fares. Railways recovers only 57 per cent of the expenses incurred for passenger transportation through sale of tickets of all classes.

In a new initiative by Indian Railways, passengers can now soon keep a track of their trains in real time through Global Positioning System (GPS).

The Railways is experimenting with the real-time punctuality monitoring and analysis (RPMA), a GPS-enabled device which will be fitted in locomotives to increase the punctuality of the trains.

Currently, Indian Railways use the manual national train enquiry system (NTES) to track train movement. Switching to the new RPMA system will increase the passenger safety also.

Earlier, Railways has successfully tested the the RPMA in the Mughalsarai division in October. “The system keeps plotting trains on maps and speed charts,” said Mughalsarai DRM Kishor Kumar.

Besides, tracking the train movement, the system also provided other crucial details like whether trains ran at maximum speed or if the trains stopped more than necessary and even kept a check on speedometer errors.

Railway minister Piyush Goyal has asked all 16 railway zones in India to adopt the new system.

Meanwhile, the Indian Railways have decided to work in totality and integrate their big ticket rail projects keeping in mind the several Metro rails coming across the city and its metropolitan region. However, there are chances that the Rs 19,500 crore Bandra-Virar elevated corridor could be shelved as the state government is coming up with a network of Metro rail lines.

On November 29, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting at Breach Candy Hospital and later in Churchgate with the Railway officials. Sources said that the minister has asked for a holistic plan that would integrate different modes of transport in the near future. Goyal had already showed his displeasure at a meeting on September 29, over the Bandra-Virar elevated corridor due to its high cost.

“The minister asked us to prepare a comprehensive plan involving both rail and Metro projects so that only relevant projects can be implemented and can make optimum utilisation of funds and resources,” said a senior railway official on condition of anonymity.

There are at least five new Metro rail lines planned in Mumbai and its metropolitan region including Andheri (E)-Dahisar (E) and Colaba-Bandra-Charkop for which work has started.

The railways have proposed the need for further expansion with 5th and 6th rail line son Borivali-Virar route. This shall mainly segregate the long-distance trains with the suburban system, thus allowing capacity addition of suburban locals. Already, the Harbour line is being extended from Andheri till Goregaon — which is expected to be ready soon — and further till Borivli.