Office-on-wheels, Paperless Offices, Wi-Fi: Railways Take The IT Route

Bullet trains will soon become a reality in India with the start of the first service between Mumbai and Ahmedabad as the Modi government seeks to run the railways like a "commercial enterprise but serve like a welfare organisation."

Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda unveiled many steps to make the railways a modern, efficient and commercially viable utility. He presented proposed to introduce 58 new trains, paperless office in five years, digital reservation charts, Wi-Fi in select stations and trains, wake-up call for passengers, separate freight terminals, office-on-wheels for business travellers, more money for cleanliness and safety, food courts at stations, expansion of rail tourism and better connectivity in hilly areas.

He also promised a diamond quadrilateral project of high-speed trains connecting the four metros – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
Having already increased passenger fares by 14.2% and the freight charges by 6.5%, Gowda focused on ways to earn from other sources like foreign investment and public-private partnerships.

He said Rs 500,000 crore ($83 billion) would be required over the next 10 years to fund the modernisation plans of the network. He also noted that freight and passenger fare hikes alone would not be able to fetch that much amount.

"An organisation of this magnitude, vested with varied responsibilities, is expected to earn like a commercial enterprise but serve like a welfare organisation. These two objectives are like the two rails of the railway track, which travel together but never meet," he said during his budget speech.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted by tweeting, "The Railway Budget keeps in mind the development of India. We can see the great use of technology also." He added, "This budget strengthens institutional mechanism. It focuses on transparency and integrity."

India Inc welcomed the budget, calling it reform oriented and said it would open up huge opportunities for the public-private partnership in many areas, including cleanliness, maintenance of major stations and IT infrastructure.