Indian railway infrastructure systems: global comparison, challenges and opportunities

Indian Railways is aware of the need to be up-to-datewith modern technological developments and best globalpractices to cash on the growing opportunity in freight and passenger business and provide the desired level of service to its passengers and customers. In this research paper, an attempt is made to evaluate the overall performance of Indian railways over the last ten years &to study the comparative position of train accidents and measures to improve safety by Indian Railways. The outcome of the study will explain in detail about the efficiency of Indian railways. Indian railways has always shown keen interest in taking advantage of technology to provide safety for the passengers.

The British Crown ruled in Sub-Continent for over two centuries, this was the era of darkness, slavery, the plundering of Indian resources, and ruthless economics & political policies. Indian land remained a consumer society and the producer of raw materials for the British Empire from the eighteen to the twentieth century, whereas, the vast and modern network of railways in India is considered to be Britain's greatest gift to the Indians. Undoubtedly, these railways have been an important means of transportation in India, but the British Colonizers did not build this system of railways in the public interest rather it was laid to serve the colonial interest. This research article identifies Britain’s strategic and economic interests in building railways in India. Construction of railways in India began in 1850 and European companies had been awarded contracts to build railway tracks, in return for the contracts, the companies were guaranteed five percent investment security. The companies were also given access to free land for 99 years and millions of pounds in fines were paid to the companies from the Indian exchequer for non-payment of guaranteed income. The main purpose of building the railway was to speed up the export of cotton, jute, iron, minerals, etc. from India to European countries, while from a strategic point of view, military equipment and supplies were also transferred by rail to military bases across India. This research paper explores how the railway track was built keeping in view the importance of military barracks. Under the British colonial policy, European companies invested heavily in the railways, but during 200 years of British rule, India's industrial growth rate fell from 3% to 10%. All the agreements made by the British colonizers with the railway companies were unilateral. The agreements provided financial benefits from the Indian treasury to companies. This research also reveals that India's railway network was built by the government through private companies, which included European capitalists and retired officers of the colonial army, who were having control over the London-based secretary of state of India. These companies were so powerful, that whenever the Government of India complained of a breach of contract and tried to end it, it was the Secretary of the state who rejected the decisions of the Governor-General of India. On the other hand, the expense for the construction of railways was £15000 more per mile than it was in the United States and Europe.

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">There has been a radical shift in the way individuals commute. The growing interest in the comfort and luxury of private vehicles has resulted in severe traffic congestion, a major concern worldwide. India, a highly populous country, requires public transportation that can attract and provide seamless, affordable, fast, and secure commutes to its citizens while remaining sustainable and environmentally friendly. An analysis of the Indian Railway shows the need and demand for a high-speed transport system. High-speed rails have always garnered attention for their speed, technology, and communication capabilities. Hyperloop technology is one such endeavor that has piqued the world's interest. Hyperloop is a futuristic mode of transportation currently under development. It has a floating pod that races along inside giant low-pressure tubes, either above or below ground. The testing pod is capable of covering 400 m in 15 s under a preliminary experiment. This study examines the overview of Hyperloop technology, different attributes of its communication system, critical challenges in building a reliable and secure system, and its overall impact. We also discuss the feasibility of incorporating the Hyperloop into the Indian transportation system, given the growing demand and interest of the public as well as the government, and whether it will suffice.</div></div>

This study examines the temporal pattern of healthcare infrastructure and manpower indicators across Indian states and regions between 2006–2020 using a composite index and data from various published sources. The study also investigates the monetary factors determining the quality and provision of healthcare infrastructure and manpower for India as a whole as well as for rural and tribal areas discretely, using a panel regression model and the generalized method of moments. The results show that economically advanced states, like Haryana and Maharashtra, do not rank highly on the index based on the healthcare infrastructure and manpower indicators; rural states with smaller populations enjoy better healthcare services. Inadequate public health expenditure results in a low ranking on the composite index and is reflected in the high infant mortality rates in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, though the situation is reversed in Kerala. The panel regression model reveals that increased per capita public health expenditure has not translated into improved healthcare infrastructure and manpower in Indian states or tribal regions within those states. The public health expenditure to gross state domestic product ratio is a positively significant predictor of healthcare infrastructure and manpower in rural areas. The panel generalized method of moments results confirm that developing targeted healthcare infrastructure and manpower in India as a whole, as well as for rural and tribal areas in the short term, has been poorly realized.

The present paper investigates consumer's intention toward adopting internet railway ticket booking in Indian context by integrating theory of planned behaviour (TPB), technology acceptance model (TAM) and an additional construct, i.e., perceived risk. 220 usable responses were collected using snowball sampling from consumers through internet survey. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse data and to evaluate the strength of model fit. Result revealed that PU significantly influenced both, consumers' attitude and intention to use Indian railway online ticketing system. Further, PEOU was found to positively influence consumers' attitude towards online ticketing. Attitude, subjective norm and PBC significantly influenced consumer's intention to adopt Indian railway online ticketing system showing TPB can be used in predicting consumer's intention toward online ticketing system. Finally, perceived risk had significant negative influence on consumers' intention to buy ticket online. Railway management may use findings for developing policies and strategies related to online ticketing in the Indian scenario.

After globalization, service quality has assumed greater significance in rail transport owing to rail passengers’ expectation of improved service quality in Indian Railways (IR), as well as existence of keen competition from the road transportation sector. Service quality is a business management term used to indicate achievement in service. Usually, service quality yields comfort to the passengers; it would delight them when the passengers’ perception of service quality exceeds their expectations. In this context, service quality comes under the scanner of a comparison of passengers’ expectation with performance of Madurai Division of Southern Railway (SR) Zone of Indian Railway. This research paper is an outcome of the present author’s research project sponsored under ICSSR’s Senior Fellowship.

This research paper in its entirety tries to articulate the various types of challenges faced by the Indian Transportation Sector in implementing new age technologies for better control and visibility throughout the entire Supply Chain. It mostly focuses on the road and rail mode of transportation, though briefly it also touch-bases upon the water and air modes. Indian railways and roads position themselves as the third and second largest network respectively worldwide. In addition to a set of questionnaires circulated among individuals working in the logistics domain to capture their point of view, a thorough literature review of the previous works in this field was done to identify the causes – both external and internal to an organization, which affects implementation of digital solutions to present transportation problems. In this paper, we discuss along with others, two of the greatest challenges posed to the digital transformation – firstly, adamant attitude of traditional players operating in this space, who have for long, functioned through traditional processes and legacy systems and secondly, the complexity of the road and rail network running through the length and breadth of the country. Though the average time taken by enterprises to digitize their transportation business has reduced tremendously due to need of remote operations in these unprecedented times during COVID-19, but still there exist some of the challenges which need to be addressed. Some of the major drivers of identifying these challenges are the need to - reduce lead times by setting up a platform/control tower which can automate the management of transportation with minimized touch points between organizations and their customers, need to reduce risk of manipulated data by minimizing human intervention and need to increase customer satisfaction by incorporating functionalities like real-time tracking, automated exception handling and other. The challenges which were identified in this study can be further analysed to improve on it and conceptualize a framework for transforming Indian logistics (majorly the transportation space). This paper is written from the point of view of current scenario of Indian transportation industry.

The safety and efficiency of railway freight transportation are critical to the functioning of many national economies, and India is no exception. BOXN wagons, widely used in the Indian railway system for transporting heavy goods such as coal, minerals, and other bulk materials, are essential for supporting industries across the country. However, due to their size, weight, and the volume of cargo they carry, these wagons are prone to accidents if not properly managed. Accidents involving BOXN trains can result in severe consequences, including loss of life, damage to property, and environmental degradation. One of the biggest and most significant industries in the world is the Indian goods railway sector. It is essential for the transportation of materials and goods across the nation. Indian Railways seeks to shorten commute times by boosting the average freight train speed efficiently from 22 mph to 50 mph. The adoption of new technologies is anticipated to have positive effects on the Indian goods railway sector as well. Smart Innovations, for instance, smart goods cars and digital signaling can contribute to reducing train accidents and help to increase railroad productivity using smart mobility.

Train is considered as one of the primary means of transport for the people across various regions in India. With a route length of around 68000 km, the Indian rail network is the fourth longest in the world and millions use its services daily. Despite having an extensive network and infrastructure, train accidents are not uncommon in India. The recent incident in Balasore district, Odisha, is the deadliest train disaster in over two decades. Nearly 295 people lost their lives and several hundred got injured in the triple train crash. This incident has brought attention to the safety measures and infrastructure of the country’s railway system. Although the Indian railway systems have seen significant development, the lack of a robust signalling system remains a major issue for such massive mishaps. This study discusses major train accidents with their causes and effects. Then, it discusses train disaster categories and the railway disaster management plan. It also provides a brief review of State-of-the-Art safety systems to prevent train accidents. Further, this study highlights the role of signalling and telecommunication systems in the safe and speedy movement of trains.

Human capital has always been an extremely important determinant of individual and social progress. In the present scenario, it is centripetal instrumental for developing economies in an increasingly competitive, services led, knowledge driven global economy. The degree of responsiveness of the skilled human resources on the overall development and specifically the economic growth has been well established. Notwithstanding, the known linkages between economic growth and human capital, it is pertinent to understand the significance of the skilled talent-pool in the knowledge economy and hence in the economic development. This paper highlights the emerging trends in the global economy with increasing reliance on the knowledge driven sectors for growth. It focuses on the emerging issues and challenges in the face of ageing population in developed countries, availability of skilled workforce and the increasing trend of relocating services jobs through off shoring and their likely impact. The study analyses the implications of changing global demographic trends and strength of Indian talent-pool for competitiveness in off shoring and outsourcing work. It argues that changing demographic profile of high income nations and off shoring provides India with an opportunity to increase its pace of economic development. It examines the higher education infrastructure in India and the quality and depth of skilled human resources coming out of this system to capitalize on this opportunity. It deliberates whether India can leverage its talent-pool capital and demographics to build/sustain the competitive advantage or not.

A Structural Analysis of Freight Delays in the Indian Railway Network

Agriculture occupies a prominent position in Indian economy, not only because it accounts for 17 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) but also engages more than 50 per cent of the country's workforce. However, Indian Agriculture is confronting the major challenges with respect to ever growing population to feed, reducing natural resources, increasing global competitiveness, deficiency of scientific storage facilities, and above all, uncertainties of the monsoon and changing climate. The small farmers do not have the financial strength to hold the produce with them and are unable to get better off season prices of their agricultural produce. The government buys food grains from the farmers but likewise does not have the space to store it. Every year tonnes of food grains go waste because of inadequate storage and infrastructure facilities. Due to inadequate infrastructure facilities Post-harvest losses accounts an average 10 to 25 per cent, being particularly high in horticulture, livestock and fisheries. Large investments are required in developing agricultural markets, quality certification, warehouses, and cold storages. Such large investments are possible only with the participation of the private sector. Public-private partnerships are a key mechanism to develop and deliver a reliable stream of technology in the face of changing demands. Collaborative partnerships can effectively bridge the gap between public and private sector's distinctive competencies in order to meet farmer's needs. The objective of this paper is to summarize the issues and challenges facing the agricultural warehousing, to find out the gaps in Storages/Warehouses in India and attempt to find possible solutions to bridge this gap. The study is based on secondary data taken from different sources.

In this research paper the main concern is to develop a design process of PLC based controller for AC coaches in railway vehicles. Passengers travelling in railway are severely affected by penetration of air unpleasantly burdened with dust due to open windows. Considering a situation that a train travelling from Kanyakumari to Kashmir over 3715 kilometer should cross different atmospheric climatic conditions. In the recent report they says delhi is highly polluted state in the year 2021 due to this environment air is highly affected in this case the railway vehicle is crossing over a kilometer in the polluted place the atmosphere air will circulated inside the vehicle. In AC coach it may give advers effect to the passengers while inhealing the air it may affect the human lungs. Another is that humid country like India, the temperature level is varied from -10°C to 47°C based on the seasonal changes. In summer season AC of railway is, therefore, essential for the highest comfort and safety journey for the passengers. Hence, to satisfy the needs of the passengers Indian railway takes more attention in renovation and implementation of modern technology in controlling through automation. However the passenger requires consistent temperature inside the coach irrespective of the outside temperature. This entire air-conditioning system is controlled by mechanical relay contacts over three decades. This system has some demerits like malfunction of relay contact, system failure, wiring complexity. To overcome this problem a PLC based novel technology have been designed and implemented in railway AC coaches and a simulation model is also designed by using PLC software and the results are verified.

Occupational safety and health bracket (OSH) is a critical yet underexplored dimension of hospital infrastructure in India, despite increasing global emphasis on employee welfare. . Many Indian hospitals continue to under prioritise staff experiences related to safety, mental health and harassment. This study addresses this gap by exploring hospital staff welfare through four key lenses: exposure to workplace hazards, adequacy of safety provisioning, mental well-being, and incidence of workplace bullying rather than focusing only on structural safety. The research places equal emphasis on emotional and social dimensions of employee welfare. Emphasizing the emotional and social dimensions of employee welfare, the study employs a survey-based quantitative methodology involving 73 hospital employees across various t departments and experience levels. Using a quantitative methodology, responses were analysed using statistical tests using t-tests, ANOVA, and correlation analysis to assess statistically significant differences across gender work, experience, department, and working hours. Findings reveal that male employees, and those with 4 to 10 years of experience reported significantly higher levels of bullying, indicating possible issues with hierarchy or departmental culture. While differences in safety provisioning were not statistically significant, observed patterns indicate potential under-provisioning in specific departments. Rental scores were uniform across all groups, which may reflect either genuine consistency or lack of awareness/reporting around psychological distance. Exposure to work place hazard, show significant gender based differences highlighting the need for targeted interventions. Overall the study reveals that even in hospitals that appear to comply with basic safety norms, fall short in addressing how safety and well-being are experienced by staff in practice. These findings underscore the necessity for a more inclusive,employee centric approach to (OSH) in the Indian healthcare system that integrates both physical and mental wellbeing as essential components of staff welfare.

Financial development and green innovation, the ultimate solutions to an environmentally sustainable society: Evidence from leading economies