The noise around ‘Vande Bharat’ trains has drowned the slow destruction of our railways. A similar thing is happening to all modes of transport for the poor. You can’t escape the overcrowded railway stations, bus stops and airports where people are really struggling to get from one place to another.
On the one hand, we are dreaming of running more bullet trains than China, but on the other, even Ambani and Adani are apparently forced to send tempos? Such is the pathetic condition of transportation in the country.
Like the brother in Deewar would say, “Today we have trains, buses, planes, cruise ships, what not?” The answer to that dialogue is, “No seats for the poor.”
The last 10 years have seen a remarkable disinterest in running and maintaining transport services for the poor. Even in all the cacophony around development, the sounds and sights of the poor trying to catch buses and trains are buried in the background.
The competition seems to be with China, where an average bullet train runs at a speed of 245.5 kmph while the Vande Bharat’s maximum speed is 130 kmph, and it actually runs at about 83 kmph.
Local passenger trains are slowly disappearing and costly express trains are coming in their place. The Railways has quietly increased the number of AC coaches while reducing the number of sleeper coaches.
Recently a journalist, travelling in the Shalimar Express from Thiruvananthapuram to Kolkata, called it ‘the slave express’. Why? Because the people were stuffed together in inhuman conditions, reminding him of slave transportation. The working class spread over the country has really no option but to be stuffed with their goods in trains to go back to their homes. Forget about the comforts of travel, they are forced to forgo their human dignity and even travel in the toilets of the trains. Today, even if Raj from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge manages to get Simran on the train, he can’t get her a seat.
Railway profitability has reduced by 7.8% in the Modi era. Railways had a revenue loss of Rs.15,024.58 crore in the financial year 2021-22.
Senior citizen concessions were stopped during the Covid pandemic, and haven’t been restored, as the government earned Rs 5,800 crore in the last four years by stopping it.
With the arrival of new AC coaches, the prices of tickets have gone up significantly, but the same cannot be said about the speed or comfort of the train. Getting tatkal tickets is becoming a game of chance. Premier tatkal has taken rail travel to literally new heights – competing with the cost of flight tickets.
Railway safety
The safety of trains isn’t assured, either. It was just last year when we saw one of the most gruesome accidents in decades in Balasore, where 300 people were killed and over a thousand were injured.
Railway safety is a serious issue today, which is sadly recalled only during such accidents. Do you know the reason for most accidents is derailment? Still, the railway has a track renewal backlog of 10,000 kilometres. The much touted ‘Kawach system’ is absent from 98% of the rail network.
A CAG report revealed last year how the fund meant for railway safety was used in foot massagers, crockery, electrical appliances, furniture, winter jackets, computers and escalators, developing gardens, building toilets, paying salaries and bonuses and erecting a flag!
So who is benefitting?
The good news is at least the speed of goods trains is increasing. Bad news – this was done by changing the calculating method, excluding significant delays from the calculations. From 27.2 kmph in 2010-11, the freight train speeds had actually declined to 24.4 kmph in 2019-20 before the controversial method kicked in.
Where is the money going?
Looks like you haven’t yet clicked a selfie with the prime minister at the selfie booths at railway stations! Each selfie booth costs Rs 6.25 lakh and a total of Rs 1.25 crore was spent on these.
And then there is Adani! You might have heard about the National Monetisation Plan. Many railway assets were to be monetised under this. Which means nothing but they were to change hands from railways to private players.
Today Adani owns the largest private railway line in the country, measuring about 300 kilometres. Of course, who wouldn’t like an accessible mode of transport to run between his ports and factories?
What happened to the largest employer?
Railways has over three lakh vacancies. But instead of recruiting new people, the railway is working overtime. Obviously, this increases the pressure on the employees, which sometimes leads to accidents. If the railway really wanted, it could easily improve its image and make its services up to date, by recruiting more people, overhauling its tracks and accommodating the common man and woman. But if you can get away with advertising, rather than actually making changes, then why would you do the latter?
Bus transport
Looking at the scene of the railways, the working class has quietly moved over to buses. You must have seen pictures of people sitting atop the buses and hanging from its doors, during the Covid-19 pandemic and otherwise. Are things better here?
Sorry, no more good news.
Public transport has not been developed in some states such as Odisha and Goa, where there are almost no public buses. The private buses, which run on certain routes, go as per their speed and fancy.
In everyday life, one needs simple and reliable public transport. Which is the bus for most people. Yet it is normal for buses to cancel, or not come on time – even the people are used to this. But it never occurs to the politicians, who only need buses to bring crowds to their rallies. People’s daily struggles over buses get buried in the dreams of airports and cheaper flights.
And then there is the issue of privatisation of roadways. The strikes by roadways employees in places like Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Mumbai have kept the bus service in the hands of the public so far. The UP givernment had in fact planned to privatise bus stands!
Does the bus service automatically become better after privatisation?
On a public bus, you can avail student pass, senior citizen pass, free service for women in some places, etc. – would a private company give all these?
If you have travelled by bus as a woman then you’d know that the need for ‘beti bachao’ begins here. If you really want to teach the daughters of rural India, what they need is a reliable bus service which takes them to towns and cities. But such questions don’t find space in the minds of our politicians.
Good public transport is also needed to resolve the issue of traffic in most metro cities. We often look at the free public buses in cities of Europe and praise their convenience. Yet when it comes to transport in our cities we rely on personal cars. We need to take a lead ourselves here to understand our own role in adding to traffic woes.
A quick look at the roads will tell you why public transport is still lagging in the country. If half the focus that is laid on tolls was given to the condition of roads, we’d be in a much better condition.
By 2022, national highways were to be doubled. But you know the truth, the number of national highways was increased by adding state highways to the list.
Many road construction projects were not just delayed, but their cost has also increased manifold.
The electoral bond scam revealed that whoever gives more donations will receive a greater stake in construction projects.
Still, despite several promises of development, roads have not reached every village. Even today, we hear news where pregnant women are taken to hospitals on charpoys. Far-off villages are still away from concrete roads and much-needed bridges in difficult terrains.
Can you guess, apart from the common people, who lost in this game of infrastructure? The answer is banks!
Yes, the NPAs worth Rs 9,922 crore of the SBI and PNB belong to the road sector alone. Forget the environmental aspects. Be thankful at least the roads are being made, sometimes more than once!
A survey last year found that 85% of people believe that our transport is inadequate, and overcrowding and maintenance are top issues. Obviously, the public who suffers every day from these woes knows them well; it is time the policymakers also pay heed.
Kavita Kabeer is a writer and satirist, associated with the Centre for Financial Accountability.
