रेल
Railway transport worldwide is recognised as the green mode of transportation due to its bulk carrying capacities and lower carbon emissions, thus making it the priority area for the national economies.
Indian Railways operate a staggering number of 23,000 trains every day to move about 3 million tonnes of freight traffic and more than 23 million passengers on a daily basis - a feat possible mainly on account of its excellent operating protocol that makes the Indian Railways a crucial driver of the Indian Economy.
However, with the development of alternative modes of transportation, especially road, the intermodal share of Railways in freight transportation has declined from 86.2% in 1950-51 to 33% in 2015 and has remained stagnant at that level.
In order to reduce unit cost of transportation, improve efficiency and increase modal share of railways following would be the key steps:
- Mega capacity development through Dedicated Freight Corridors and augmentation line capacities on trunk routes
- Augmentation of terminal capacities through Public private participation and encourage intermodal transportation
- Provide end to end solutions through effective first and last mile partnerships
- Deployment of IT solutions including a freight Business Development Portal which aims to conduct all business with Railways in a faceless manner
- Enhance operational efficiency through innovation in design of the rolling stock (the rake, fixed wagon, etc.), the floating stock (lift on/off containers), associated material handling system and standardization of dwarf containers.
- Development of Rail Side Logistics Parks (RSLPs)_ at / around railway good-sheds with mechanised / semi-mechanised handling / transfers, warehousing
- Increased focus on parcel business through introduction of scheduled time-table services with guaranteed transit times and other value-added services can be encouraged. Public Private partnerships in this area will be encouraged.
- Creating a level playing field that promotes competition and encourages customer-oriented services by both the public and private sector operators
Reports
