India rail modernisation... short BBC clip

[caravanman]

Hi,

Just a short BBC clip reporting on Indian railways... seems to just feature a suburban train, and seems unjustifiably negative... there are fast trains too!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-31017798

and also a clip on the Metro. I think both clips are made from an economy development viewpoint, rather than any train fans perspective... interesting though...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-31026436

Ed

 

[jis]

I did not realize that Indian Railways local trains operate at about the same average speed as NJTransit.

Considering the shambles that the British left Indian Railways in after the war, it takes a lot of ignorance and gall to complain about how little additional routes have been added. Consider this.... the main Calcutta - Delhi trunk route was single track beyond Allahabad all the way to Delhi. Now that section is double and triple track and electrified 25kV 50Hz AC. Many of the other routes were in even worse shape. There was no air-conditioned service except for the remaining air-conditioned first class cars on select mail trains which were meant for use of the government officials. The whole concept of air-conditioned service that is accessible and affordable by the middle class was entirely developed by IR post 1960, starting with the A/C Express trains.

At independence in 1947 IR did not have a reasonable passenger locomotive. The WP class was introduced and became the passenger work horse. Almost complete electrification of the entire trunk network also happened in those 60 years.

Yup, a lot more needs to be done. But afterall one had to first recover from the sorry dilapidated state of the system resulting from supplying equipment for the war effort including rails uplifted up from entire routes to supply to Africa and South East Asia. Ship loads of wagons, passenger cars and locomotives delivered to other parts of the empire as needed, all for the the war. The recovery had to take place basically with not much external help, just using the meager resources of a country with a very small tax base and destruction of the partition at independence. So I don't quite know what to make of this latter day seeming re-writing of history, or simple suppression of it, just to make a holier than though point, specially coming from the BBC. :help:

 

[printman2000]

In October 2014, I rode the train from Chennai to Ongole. Some of the smoothest track I have ever been on! Was not even scared to hang my head out the door.

Chennai is also in the process of building some sort of light rail system.

 

[jis]

Yes. IR is a relatively good shape now, but still hopelessly over-utilized infrastructure, specially to run many many politically driven passenger trains. The present government fortunately is trying to get rid of some of the politically driven service that is otherwise hard to justify. IR and government already have a separate program to build, maintain and operate strategic rail links, which is separate from the operation, extension and maintenance of the commercially viable part of the network.

For example the Kashmir Rail Link is an example of a strategic rail link that is funded separate from IR the commercial outfit.

 

[caravanman]

I was myself surprised by the negative tone of the report, as mentioned. It sort of sounds like a business report... Modi says the railways are an engine of modernisation, and look guys, says the reporter, some opportunities here for foreign firms...

Funny coincidence, we had a new programme start here on tv last night, about a young british motorcycle ace, who recently visited India to buy a Royal Enfield 500, and take part in some mad motorbike race in Goa.

Last nights programme shows him buying the bike in Delhi, and also then taking the train to Kalka, with the bike as luggage. He rides to visit a tea plantation and next week will be heading down south... dunno if any more train travel will be shown, or if it will be roads from now on. (A channel 4 production, not bbc, the motorcyclists name is Guy Martin, he is an interesting character...)

Ed