India’s Rail Freight Challenges

Indian Railways (IR) is the fourth-largest rail network in the world having transported 1.2 billion tons of freight. Yet, 71 per cent of India’s freight is transported by road and only 17 per cent by rail.

Key Challenges to Indian Rail Freight

• The present modal share of railways in freight is just 17 per cent.
• India's rail freight quantum as part of its total freight movement – including air, water and road is only 17 per cent vis-a-vis China's 47 per cent and the United States' 48 per cent.
• The Golden Quadrilateral and its diagonals which comprise merely 16 per cent of India’s rail route length carry about 52 per cent of the nation’s passengers and 58 per cent of freight.

Indian Railways in order to improve the contribution of rail freight in overall freight movement – including air, water and road have prepared a National Rail Plan (NRP) for India – 2030. The Plan is to create a ‘future ready’ Railway system by 2030.

The NRP is aimed to formulate strategies based on both operational capacities and commercial policy initiatives to increase modal share of the Railways in freight to 45%.

The key objectives of the National Rail Plan are:-

• Formulate strategies based on both operational capacities and commercial policy initiatives to increase modal share of the Railways in freight to 45%.
• Reduce transit time of freight substantially by increasing average speed of freight trains to 50Kmph.
• As part of the National Rail Plan, Vision 2024 has been launched for accelerated implementation of certain critical projects by 2024 such as 100% electrification, multi-tracking of congested routes, upgradation of speed to 160 kmph on Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes, upgradation of speed to 130kmph on all other Golden Quadrilateral-Golden Diagonal (GQ/GD) routes and elimination of all Level Crossings on all GQ/GD route.
• Identify new Dedicated Freight Corridors.
• Identify new High Speed Rail Corridors.
• Assess rolling stock requirement for passenger traffic as well as wagon requirement for freight.
• Assess Locomotive requirement to meet twin objectives of 100% electrification (Green Energy) and increasing freight modal share.
• Sustained involvement of the Private Sector in areas like operations and ownership of rolling stock, development of freight and passenger terminals, development/operations of track infrastructure etc.