It will be surprising if the privatisation of passenger trains — the centrepiece of the Bibek Debroy Committee’s recommendations on bringing the railways on track — is accepted by the government, and even more surprising if the private sector rushes to take over the running of passenger trains. The model suggested by the committee (one does not now if it had any experts who had knowledge about how the railways function) is almost akin to the British model of which the government seems enamoured. One wonders if the committee has seen what happened after passenger traffic was handed over to private parties in Britain and the government took the responsibility of maintaining the tracks and other infrastructure. Fares have gone through the roof and the company that was running the East Coast Line reportedly returned it as it was making losses. The British government maintains the tracks and other infrastructure, in a way subsidising the private sector’s profits.
The committee, in line with the thinking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seems to think that the private sector has a magic wand that can cure all the ills assailing efficient and profitable functioning. It would be good if people had good amenities, clean toilets, quality food and comfortable and secure travel. If the private sector can provide these, then at what cost? They are more profit-oriented than service-oriented. Many people will be willing to pay higher fares if services are good, but how many such people are there that use the 10,000 passenger trains that are run?
The privatisation of airports is a case in point. Charges are hefty, among the highest in the world, and the airlines are fuming. One can imagine passenger fares being “rationalised” (increased manifold) and people preferring to take the plane which will probably be cheaper. The government has not raised passenger fares for years. We have examples of foreign companies making coaches for the Metro that are said to cost double of those made by Indian coach manufacturers.
Other recommendations include scrapping the separate Rail Budget (not a bad idea, it should be replaced by a separate budget for agriculture); rationalisation of the number of zones and giving each zonal manager powers to make decisions within a policy framework; and to encourage, on payment of a licence fee, on-board catering through food chains and local restaurants.
Security on trains is an extremely serious issue that requires attention. The committee wants the states to bear the cost of the Government Railway Police and the rail administration to have the freedom to decide if it wants private security. Interesting times lie ahead for Indian Railways.
