UPA as an alliance and its government must answer while New minister paints doomsday scenario for Railways! All is not well after cabinet reshuffle. The corporate lobbying played most decisive role. Jaipal Reddy has been shunted out of oil sector as earlier Jairam Ramesh had been ousted out of environment.Jayanti Natrajan failed to get favour for promotion as she also revolted writing a letter against finance ministry directly targeting Corporate India!
Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time, Chapter: Nine Hundred eighteen
Palash Biswas
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Who killed Indian railway?UPA as an alliance and its government must answer while New minister paints doomsday scenario for Railways! All is not well after cabinet reshuffle. The corporate lobbying played most decisive role. Jaipal Reddy has been shunted out of oil sector as earlier Jairam Ramesh had been ousted out of environment.Jayanti Natrajan failed to get favour for promotion as she also revolted writing a letter against finance ministry directly targeting Corporate India!On the other hand, agenda roforms is pushed harder as expected.Worried over high budget deficit derailing growth, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today unveiled a five-year road map for fiscal consolidation to promote investments, contain inflation and take India to high growth trajectory.The government, the Minister said, will continue efforts to restrict fiscal deficit in the current financial year to 5.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and reduce it to 3 per cent by 2016-17. The fiscal deficit was 5.8 per cent in 2011-12.
Indian Railway is on fast track of privatisation. Congress captured railways to privatise it.The doomsday scenerio is created to justify the necessary policy making.It may be noteworthy as an indicator that Richard Branson , chairman of Virgin Group Ltd danced at a party on Friday in Mumbai to announce his airlines' re-entry on the Mumbai-London route. The same morning, the 63-year-old beat a drum clad in a traditional Marathi dress. Amid the fun and frolic, the English business magnate does not want to lose sight of any business opportunity in India. In an interview, he said if India decides to privatize the railways, Virgin would love to evaluate its options.
British transport mogul Richard Branson said Friday he would love to help set up high-speed trains in India at a time when the nation's creaking railway system desperately needs new investment.
State-run Indian Railways, the world's biggest employer, is studying the feasibility of attracting private investment for high-speed trains for six routes and has been studying various options of attracting funding.
After almost one-and-a-half decade, the key Railway Ministry is back with Congress with Pawan Kumar Bansal becoming the cabinet minister and both the MoS portfolios going to the party.Congress MPs from West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh - Adhir Ranjan Choudhary and Kotla Jaya Suryaprakash Reddy - were given railway portfolio as Ministers of State in reshuffle.
Economic growth slipped to nine-year low of 6.5 per cent in 2011-12 and it is expected to fall further this fiscal.
Referring to fiscal consolidation in 2012-13, Chidambaram expressed the confidence that government would be able to raise Rs 30,000 crore from disinvestment and Rs 40,000 crore from sale of spectrum.Mind you!
After taking charge as the new MSME Minister, K H Muniyappa today sought to allay fears of FDI hurting home-grown small enterprises.
Stepping into the Oil Ministry, where decision-making had slowed in the recent past, new petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily today expressed the confidence of "melting" away obstacles with quick calls.what does it mean? Who did create the obstacles? Corporate India felt that the Petroleum Ministry, which was scene of the nation's biggest corporate battle a few years ago, had almost gone into limbo after Reddy took over in January 2011.From delaying approval to India's largest foreign direct investment (FDI) to being a reluctant party to fuel reforms, the ministry is accused of being regressive and negative towards the industry during the past 22 months.
The first task at Moily's hands will be to smoothen out confusions surrounding the decision to cap supply of subsidised domestic cooking gas to six cylinders per household in a year.
There were demands from within the ruling party to raise the cap to at least nine. Perhaps, the government was veering towards that idea when elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were announced leading to its deferment.
Moily would also have to sort out the continued delays Reliance Industries and its British partner BP Plc face in getting investment and other approvals that are needed to revive fortunes at the flagging eastern offshore KG-D6 fields.
The bigger task at hand would be to resolve the KG-D6 gas pricing row. While RIL-BP have been seeking a market price, the oil ministry under Reddy had opposed the move tooth and nail.
Reddy had even moved a note for consideration of the Empowered Group of Ministers to reject any change in rates before April 2014 even at the cost of ignoring RIL-BP's June application that sought a new price on expiry of current rates in March 2014.
The ministry, which had under Reddy delayed by over five months approval to BP buying 30 per cent stake in RIL's oil and gas blocks for $7.2 billion, has not approved annual spending on the oil and gas fields for the past three years.
Moily would also have to deal with the issue of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) doing a second round of audit of spending on KG-D6 fields in the face of stiff opposition from RIL which says that the official auditor does not have powers under Parliament enacted act to audit private firms.
More importantly, he would have to nurse back the public sector oil firms to good financial health as they face unprecedented revenue losses on sale of diesel, LPG and kerosene.
A day before the monetary policy, the professional forecasters' survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India revised GDP forecast to 5.7% as against 6.5% in 2012-13 while raising inflation estimate to 7.7% versus 7.3% for the year. Persistent inflation and easy availability of money (liquidity) is likely to prompt the central bank keeping rates unchanged on Tuesday.
SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose party is supporting the UPA government at the Centre, on Monday asked his party workers to be ready for snap Lok Sabha polls as there was "little time" left for the same.
Meanwhile,a new-look Team Anna today mounted a scathing attack on the UPA government and sought immediate dissolution of Parliament, saying the two pillars of democracy were not acting in the manner enshrined in the Constitution.Heralding formation of a new movement against corruption, Anna Hazare and former Army chief General V K Singh targeted the "unconstitutional " UPA government over decisions like FDI in multi-brand retail.BJP on Monday alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rewarded the corrupt ministers with "promotions" in the reshuffle and shied away from giving Cabinet berths to the young leaders.
Addressing a joint press conference this evening, Singh said the government had taken the controversial decision on FDI despite being in minority.
"As per the Constitution, India is a welfare state in which a democratically elected government is duty bound to protect and improve the lives of the people. However, the current system has completely ignored the directive principles enshrined in the constitution and has surrendered to market forces," Singh said.
"Parliament should be dissolved and fresh elections held," he said, reading from a prepared statement. Hazare endorsed Singh and said they had jointly prepared the statement.
Amusing it may sound that Shashi Tharoor, re-inducted into the Manmohan Singh government after two years, said on Monday that he was dropped earlier from the ministry for no fault of his.Tharoor made the comment after hundreds of supporters gave him a rousing welcome as he landed here after Sunday's swearing in ceremony in Delhi. Tharoor is the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
Jaipal Reddy, who has been given Science and Technology Ministry, is deeply upset by his transfer from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry and did not come to handover charge to new minister Veerappa Moily.
RPN Singh, who has been shifted from Petroleum to Home in Cabinet reshuffle, welcomed Moily, who was among the first ones to report to their new offices this morning.
Reddy had been accused of being indecisive and almost halting oil and gas exploration.
Reddy's transfer to Science and Technology Ministry is seen as a demotion and reports have appeared that he was transferred for his run-in with Reliance Industries owned by Mukesh Ambani.
70-year-old Reddy, who was made Petroleum Minister in January 2011, maintained he has no regrets over losing Petroleum but some wry answers he gave at a press conference indicated his apparent sulk.As BJP and civil society leaders attacked the Prime Minister's decision to take Reddy out of Petroleum Minister as having been dictated by corporate pressure, the Andhra Pradesh veteran kept away when his successor M Veerappa Moily took charge of the portfolio this morning.
BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu attacked the decision to move Reddy out of Petroleum saying people and media have said that this was done due to pressure of corporate groups. He demanded an answer from the government.
Anti corruption activist, Arvind Kejriwal alleged that an honest minister like Reddy lost his job for resisting Reliance Industries.
"No minister is ever told about the reasons for the change. And I personally feel the Prime Minister need not tell a minister about the reasons for change," Reddy said adding he would stick to norms and forms of a minister.
"In all matters, it has been my effort to be a faithful party man and a truthful minister. My record will always be a faithful party man. That is my focus and that shall be my focus," he said.
Reddy took over as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister last year, replacing Murli Deora.
He took on Reliance on multiple fronts over its DG gas fields in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin. Once India's second-biggest producer of natural gas, the DG fields have been under-performing.
The Reliance-led consortium has said the problems are related to geological complexities, but Reddy had asked arbitrators to look at the matter.
The Oil Ministry will seek over Rs 1,00,000 crore from the Finance Ministry this fiscal towards fuel subsidy, new Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily said today.
State-owned fuel retailers are likely to end the fiscal with a revenue loss of over Rs 1,63,000 crore on sale of diesel, domestic cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene at government-controlled rates that are way lower than cost, he said soon after taking over as the new oil minister.
"Of this, about Rs 60,000 crore will come from upstream companies Oil and Natural Gas Corp ( ONGC ), Oil India Ltd and GAIL India . We will ask the Finance Ministry to compensate the rest by way of cash subsidy," he said.
Oil PSUs, he said, cannot sustain high level of under-recoveries or revenue losses and ways have to be found to drastically bring down these.
"How long can you run these companies on loss. How long can you go with these kind of under-recoveries. It is criminal. We need to prepare roadmap to see under-recoveries drastically comes down," he said. "I am not saying subsidy should be cut but inefficiencies have to be removed from the sector."
State retailers currently lose Rs 9.82 per litre on diesel, Rs 33.93 a litre on kerosene and Rs 468.50 per 14.2-kg subsidised LPG cylinder. They currently are losing Rs 433 crore per day.
Upstream firms ONGC, OIL and GAIL share a part of the revenues that retailers lose on selling diesel, LPG and kerosene at government-controlled rates. Their share to begin with was 33 per cent of the revenue loss on fuel sales but has slowly risen to 40 per cent.
Their contribution now has been capped at USD 56 per barrel. This means that suppose ONGC realises USD 100 per barrel from sale of crude oil it produces, it will be allowed to retain only USD 44 and the rest USD 56 would be taken away for subsidising fuel. Upstream firms had in 2011-12 made good 40 per cent of the Rs 138,541 crore revenue that Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp lost on fuel sales. Their Rs 55,000 crore contribution that year compared to Rs 30,297 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 14,430 crore in 2009-10.
The remaining revenue loss was made good by the Finance Ministry by way of cash subsidy. In 2011-12, government gave out Rs 83,500 crore by way of cash subsidy, up from Rs 41,000 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 26,000 crore in 2009-10. In the first quarter of current year, upstream firms made good Rs 15,061 crore out of the Rs 47,811 crore retailers lose on sale of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene. The Finance Ministry has not given any subsidy this fiscal so far, Moily said.
"We plan to shortly make the short trip to the Finance Ministry to request for release of subsidy," he said. The Oil Ministry had sought cash subsidy of Rs 32,750 crore for the first quarter but the Finance Ministry has not released any.
In the second quarter, the fuel retailers lost Rs 42,200 crore in revenue. Of this, upstream contribution would be in the range of Rs 14,000-15,000 crore and rest would have to come from the finance ministry.
In the absence of the subsidy support, IOC reported the highest-ever quarterly net loss by any Indian company at Rs 22,451 crore for April-June. HPCL posted Rs 9,249 crore net loss in April-June while BPCL reported a net loss of Rs 8,836 crore for the first quarter.
PM's new team comes under scrutiny, faces tough questions.Money Control reports:
The new Manmohan Singh team, which is expected to pull the UPA out of troubled waters following allegations of massive corruption, ineffective governance and policy paralysis, is already facing tough questions over its credibility. While Salman Khurshid, who has been facing allegations of siphoning off funds for the differently-abled has been elevated to the External Affairs Minister, other new ministers like K Rahman Khan and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also face serious charges.
The new Minority Affairs Ministry, K Rahman Khan, could prove to be a big embarrassment for the government as he is alleged to have been involved in the Karnataka Wakf Board scam. The 73-year-old Karnataka leader was embroiled in the Rs 2 lakh crore scam in which misuse and encroachment of Wakf properties in the state had caused the loss to the exchequer. The Karnataka State Minorities Commission, which conducted its study in other districts, also including Gulbarga, Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Ramanagaram and Koppal, had alleged misuse of properties, encroachments, illegal disposal, mismanagement and fraudulent acts committed by erstwhile heads of the Wakf Board, elected representatives, politicians and others. Khan was also a member of Joint Parliamentary Committee on functioning of Wakf Boards and the one on Securities Scam.
There were allegations that Khan along with other members of the Board of Directors of the Amanath Co-Operative Bank Ltd of Bangalore siphoned off Rs 102 crore from the bank. But he was given a clean chit and a team led by Rahman Khan is once again running the Bank.
Controversy also surrounds the new Minister of State for Railways, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Chowdhury, a known baiter of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, was implicated in 2005 in the twin murder of two restaurant owners in Murshidabad. Although he was cleared of all charges in 2007, he is currently out on bail in another case against him, the murder of a Gram Panchayan leader in Burdwan. Before joining active politics, Adhir suffered imprisonment in various criminal cases during the previous Left Front regime in the state. He even contested the 2006 Assembly polls from behind bars.
Chowdhury has now said that he will resign if criminal charges are proven against him. "The Congress cannot grow in Bengal if we bend to TMC. I am challenging the TMC that if they can find a single criminal case pending against me, I am ready to resign right now," Chowdhury said.
The UPA is also facing flak for making Salman Khurshid the External Affairs Minister. Salman Khurshid, who was the Law Minister, took charge as the External Affairs Minister despite allegations of corruption. Asked if his appointment despite the controversy surrounding him over charges of financial bungling by a trust run by him and his wife was a clear indication of the confidence he enjoyed of the government and the party, he said "it is for others to judge" and added that one cannot "surrender" before those who just make allegations. He is taking over the ministry at a time when India is assuming greater global stature and the developed world, reeling from the global downturn, is looking at New Delhi afresh as an emerging economic power. India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "Jaipal Reddy - known to be honest - kicked out. Salman Khurshid - corrupt - promoted. That's UPA (sic)."
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/current-affairs/pm39s-new-team-comes-under-scrutiny-faces-tough-questions_774656.html
New Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Monday gave ample hint of a possible passenger fare hike to improve services in the Railways.
"Fare will not be increased for the sake of increasing fare. If fare will be increased, then it will be for providing better services to the passengers," Bansal said when asked whether passenger fares will be hiked in the near future.
"The improvement in services will have to be commensurate with the increase in fare," he said after assuming charge at Rail Bhawan here.
At present, the Railways are facing financial crunch and funds earmarked for many of the ongoing projects are being curtailed.
Justifying the need for a such step, the Railway Minister said, "We have to ensure that the vast infrastructure of the Railways does not collapse and stop functioning... So we have to increase fares and assure the public that if there will be any hike, the public will also appreciate it because we are going to improve the services."
However, he did not go into the nitty-gritty of a possible passenger fare hike. "I have just assumed charge... I will discuss the issue threadbare."
The new Minister of State for Railways Adheer Kumar Choudhury, who also assumed charge, favoured a hike in passenger fares.
"Prices have increased in every area... so why not in the Railways. Common people will not oppose it (fare hike) if services will be proper," said the West Bengal Congress leader and a known critic of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.
Choudhury said, "Rail services have fallen in the last few years. There are increasing number of complaints with regard to the services. Safety and security is a big concern for the Railways and I think these areas need attention."
On the issue of Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), Bansal said, "We have to expeditiously work on DFC as it will benefit the people. All the regions of the country will get their due from the Railways."
He also promised to improve the ticket reservation system to ensure genuine passengers get confirmed tickets.
"We will try to improve the ticket reservation process with the help of technology so that there is less problem in getting tickets," he said.
Emphasising on the need safety and security, Bansal said, "We are aware of the fact that the primary concern is the safety of passengers. We have to do our best to ensure security of the passengers. Cleanliness is also important besides punctuality. We have to give a clean environment in the trains."
Bansal said, "It is our endeavour to strengthen the physical and financial position of the Railways. We have to move with the times."
"As fiscal consolidation takes place and investors' confidence increases, it is expected that the economy will return to the path of high investment, higher growth, lower inflation and long-term sustainability", Chidambaram said.
As regards the revenue targets, he said, "every effort will also be made to realise the revenue budgeted under tax receipts. Government also expects to be able to contain and economise on expenditure, both on Plan and non-Plan side.
"While funds will be made available for essential expenditure, especially capital expenditure, every effort will be made to avoid parking or idling of funds," he said.
The government had budgeted the fiscal deficit for 2012-13 at 5.1 per cent. However, as per the consolidation roadmap, it is expected to be 5.3 per cent of GDP.
Chidambaram said, "5.1 per cent was very challenging. After looking at all the factors we think 5.3 per cent is do-able and we intend to work hard and achieve that.
"This plan is necessary, this plan must be implemented and government is very serious about implementing this fiscal consolidation plan."
The roadmap follows the recommendation of the Vijay Kelkar-headed Committee which had suggested that the government should undertake reform initiatives, go ahead with disinvestments and reduce subsidies, without which fiscal deficit could shoot up to 6.1 per cent in 2012-13.
Chidambaram said the government is determined to address the twin challenges of current account deficit (CAD) and fiscal deficit.
He said the CAD is expected to come down to USD 70.3 billion or 3.7 per cent of GDP in the current fiscal, from USD 78.2 billion or 4.2 per cent in 2011-12.
"The government is confident that the CAD will be fully financed by capital inflows, and expects that a substantial part of it will be in the form of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), foreign institutional investment (FII) and External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs)," Chidambaram said.
When asked about the introduction of the amended Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill, Chidambaram said, it is under review and would be presented to Parliament after taking into account the recommendations of the Standing Committee.
"A quick review of DTC Bill will be done. We are looking at the Bill that was introduced, at the standing committee's recommendations. We are also looking at current economic situation and therefore final version of bill that will be introduced in Parliament will reflect all these. By and large we will have to abide by Standing Committee recommendations," he said.
Chidambaram said the work is in progress on both the DTC and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
While DTC will replace the archaic Income Tax laws, GST will subsume various levies and streamline the indirect tax regime.
On lowering government holdings in state-owned firms, he said the Disinvestment Department has already obtained Cabinet approval for stake sale in 8 PSUs -- HCL, NALCO, SAIL, RINL, BHEL, OIL, MMTC and NMDC.
Chidambaram said the government would rely on Aadhaar enabled direct cash transfers of subsidies to eliminate duplication or falsification.
He said that the slowdown in the world economy, lower growth in India, higher inflation, lower tax receipts and increased expenditures led to considerable fiscal stress in the 2011-12 financial year.
The fiscal deficit, the gap between overall expenditure and revenue, rose to 5.8 per cent on GDP in 2011-12.
Chidambaram said that if immediate corrective steps were not taken then the economy could go into a cycle of low growth, high inflation and high deficit.
"I reiterated our commitment to bring the economy back on the high growth trajectory. Towards this end, some difficult but crucial decisions were taken recently," he said.
Chidambaram, soon after assuming office in August, has ushered in a host of reform initiative. While the diesel price was hiked by over Rs 5 a litre from September 13, the foreign investment norms were liberalised for retail, pension, insurance, information and broadcasting sectors.
Chidambaram had in August, appointed a three member committee under the chairmanship of 13th Finance Commission headed Kelkar to suggest a roadmap for fiscal consolidation.
As per the roadmap given by the Committee, the Centre should aim to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.6 per cent and 3.9 per cent by 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively.
FM hopes RBI takes note of fiscal consolidation plan
Finance Minister said he hoped the country's central bank would take note of the government's fiscal consolidation plan as the government pushes ahead with initiatives to stimulate a sluggish economy.
Chidambaram's comments came a day ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) quarterly policy review. The central bank, which is not expected to cut rates on Tuesday, has previously called for fiscal consolidation measures from the government.
HIGHLIGHTS
* Finance Minister P Chidambaram unveils roadmap for fiscal consolidation.
* Government accepts recommendations of Kelkar Committee on fiscal consolidation; fiscal deficit to be 5.3% in 2012-13: Chidambaram.
* Fiscal consolidation will help in moving to a regime of low inflation and high growth: Chidambaram.
* I am reviewing Direct Taxes Code (DTC), it will be introduced in Parliament; meeting on GST on November 8: Chidambaram.
* Government expecting current account deficit of USD 70.3 billion or 3.7 per cent of GDP in 2012-13: Chidambaram
* We are confident of raising Rs 30,000 crore from disinvestment in current fiscal: Chidambaram
London Global investors seem happy to feed off central banks' reflation policies but not necessarily their eventual success.
Just a glance at this week's bout of earnings-related market angst shows how little conviction there still is in a sustainable global recovery -- or the fabled 'green shoots'.
In an otherwise punchy, policy-driven year of double-digit western equity gains, October is set to be first month in the red since May for both MSCI's all-country world stock index and US blue chips in the S&P 500.
To keep that in perspective, this month's wobble of 1-2 per cent pales in comparison with prior Halloween scares.
There was a 22 per cent monthly drop on Wall Street during the October crash 25 years this week and there was a near 17 percent October drop after Lehman Brothers went bust in 2008.
But if investors have been happy so far this year riding waves of central bank money-printing or asset-buying from the United States, euro zone, Britain and -- likely yet again next week -- from Japan, they remain doubtful the hell-for-leather policy of reflation will succeed.
Positive economic surprises, including third-quarter US and British economic growth data, and signs of economic bottoming in the latest Chinese or East Asian export data might also be good reasons for underlying bullishness. But markets continue to show caution.
Behaviour in the fixed-income markets shows it best.
With official interest rates bolted near zero and central banks directly supporting many key sovereign and asset-backed markets, there's been an indiscriminate scramble for any sort of extra yield on offer while the liquidity taps are full on.
The surge in demand for everything from emerging sovereign and corporate bonds to western junk bonds, where new dollar high-yield debt sales have jumped almost 40 percent this year to smash full-year records already at some $268 billion, has seen yield premia nearly everywhere get crushed.
This hunt has even stretched to crisis-tarnished collateralised loan obligations and seen sub-6 percent 10-year debt sales from the likes of Bolivia and Zambia.
While it suggests gung-ho risk appetite, however, some analysts are struck by the willingness to assume 'duration risk', or the risk to bond prices from higher interest rates in future.
This suggests an assumption of near-zero rates and money printing policies will persist for many more years.
And that in itself assumes central banks will not gain any traction in boosting growth or inflation over a similarly long horizon. What such a dearth of growth does to underlying credit or default risk is yet another point.
Graham Neilson, strategist at credit hedge fund Cairn Capital, said this is as much a reflection of increasingly tactical, short-term trading by investors who could switch back just as quickly. The yield compression has overshot and needs consolidation, he said.
But our core view is this crisis has seen the biggest, broadest, balance sheet destruction ever and history tells us any recovery from these events takes on average about 8 years start to finish, Neilson said.
There will be a tipping point for reflation at some stage but we're nowhere near that point.
On the other hand, medium term interest rate risk can come from many quarters.
For example, Barclays said this week that a win for U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in next month's election could see a 50 basis point jump in 2015 Fed funds rate futures on an assumption he would propose a more hawkish replacement for Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke in 2014.
Equity doubts
Are these long-term economic doubts evident in what has seemed like ebullient equity markets too?
So far, the third-quarter earnings season -- which is expected to see a 1.7 percent annual drop overall in S&P 500 profits -- shows some 40 percent of European companies and 30 percent of U.S. firms missing expectations, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
While that still leaves about two-thirds of companies meeting or beating forecasts, in line with previous quarters, more worrying is falling revenues and darkening outlooks from big real economy firms such as Caterpillar and Intel or Renault and Ericsson.
Partly in light of the latest results, JP Morgan Asset Management's multi-asset team this week highlighted its worries about equity market behaviour, saying there are several features of the current revival that don't smell right.
The note by strategists David Shairp and Patrik Schowitz reckoned equity prices had run way ahead of broader risk appetite, which was evident mostly only in credit markets.
Investors appear to have been reluctant in adding equity risk, adding to defensives but largely avoiding cyclicals, they said. There will need to be rotation into higher-beta sectors, or the rally will peter out.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch's latest fund manager poll shows asset managers still underweight equities relative to historical positioning.
So is all the caution a reality check or does it reveal vulnerability in investor positioning if reflation policies start to work sooner rather than later?
Another US election twist shows up here to. Both economic and earnings data this week shows businesses freezing capital goods expenditure, in part over fears over how a post-election US government will deal with the looming fiscal cliff.
But if that were to be resolved quickly, could there be a capex fillip to the economy and markets?
The Barclays strategists see Romney as more likely to dodge the looming fiscal drag of expiring tax relief and government spending quickly and they reckon a victory by him could see 10-year Treasury yields jump above 2 percent as a result.
Philipp Baertschi, global equities strategist at Sarasin, also thinks markets and chief executives may have become too bearish and the current market pullback will be short-lived.
The uptrend on the stock exchanges, driven by the global economic upswing, should resume at the latest when the US fiscal cliff has been circumnavigated.
Branson: If railways is privatized, we'd love to evaluate opportunities
Virgin Group's chairman speaks about the aviation market and business opportunities in India
P.R. Sanjai Mail Me
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First Published: Sun, Oct 28 2012. 09 47 PM IST
pdated: Sun, Oct 28 2012. 10 16 PM IST
Mumbai: Richard Branson , chairman of Virgin Group Ltd danced at a party on Friday in Mumbai to announce his airlines' re-entry on the Mumbai-London route. The same morning, the 63-year-old beat a drum clad in a traditional Marathi dress. Amid the fun and frolic, the English business magnate does not want to lose sight of any business opportunity in India. In an interview, he said if India decides to privatize the railways, Virgin would love to evaluate its options. Edited excerpts:
You had announced in 2005 that Virgin Atlantic will start an airline in India, only to realize that the rules for foreign direct investment did not allow that. Now that the rules have changed, will you?
As an aviation market and even otherwise, India has huge potential. We have experienced strong growth out of Delhi and our entry into the Mumbai market is a reflection of our commitment to growing our Indian business. I am happy the Indian government is finally welcoming foreign carriers to pick up a stake in Indian carriers and that will be good for the economy. Also, I think just like the Indian companies are allowed to own 100% in companies in the UK, foreign businesses should be allowed to own companies in India as well. That will create jobs in India and offer choice to consumers.
Could Virgin Atlantic run a profitable airline in India?
We are doing extremely well out of Delhi and connecting more and more passengers to the US. We have the right slots from Heathrow now and with our flights starting from Mumbai, we will be connecting more passengers from Mumbai to key cities in the US like New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago and Miami. We have the brand new A330-300 with our new upper class product on the route. I know people will choose to fly with us.
I think Virgin Atlantic has been successful out of Delhi and with stronger connectivity and the new aircraft we are deploying on the route, I am confident we will have strong numbers emerging soon out of Mumbai and India as a whole. We expect more traffic connecting to the US with us via London. China remains important to us as well. With our Dreamliners coming in over the next few years and more slots, we look forward to more growth in the future.
Which cities do you want to fly in India?
We are looking at flying to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Goa.
How do you see the future of airline alliances?
Virgin Atlantic has survived nearly 30 years as a stand-alone airline though we have partner airlines across the world and we are very happy with where we have reached. Joining an alliance is not on the immediate radar, but we are talking to people all the time and when something makes sense that is good for the brand and for the consumer, we will take the opportunity.
Do you still believe aviation is a fun business?
Yes, very much so; otherwise, we wouldn't be here. We like to party wherever we go and that's what brings me here. Yes, it's a tough business and hence one has to sometimes take tough decisions. Due to the lack of right slots, the Mumbai route was not performing last time around. Instead of incurring heavy losses and putting the whole airline at risk, we had to take the hard decision of withdrawing the route. But we always said we would be back. And now, with right slots and brand new aircraft, we are here to party again and for the long term.
Virgin Atlantic is one of the most respected brands in the world. There is not one airline that offers an experience like we do and we work hard to ensure we remain the best, not necessarily the biggest airline in the world. I had once said if you want to become a millionaire, invest a billion into an airline!
At one point of time, even Singapore Airlines was reviewing its business class decision, citing severe slowdown, but you are revamping the upper class.
We are a product- and innovation-led brand. We were the first airline to introduce seat-back entertainment in economy and premium economy cabins, and airlines around the world followed us. Our upper class cabin has been a success and we wanted to ensure we take it to the next step as well and we've been getting very positive feedback from our customers. We have been performing very strongly on business class out of Delhi and across the world.
Will you attempt to take on Felix Baumgartner's record for the highest-ever freefall jump?
No. At the moment, I am quite excited about exploring the other side of the world—the deep trenches of our oceans. I am also hopeful Virgin Galactic will take off its first flight in 12-15 months' time. It's my biggest dream to see space travel accessible to people with basic salaries; journalists, teachers, doctors can go to space and not just the super-rich.
What's your take on high airport charges in India?
Sadly, it has been the case across the world and does not help the airlines or the consumers. Governments across the world—in India and the UK—have been exploiting the golden geese: airlines that are key for the modern economies. The airline industry is already one of the toughest and any decision that stifles growth should be well thought through and long-term implications considered carefully.
India-UK is a tough market. How will you differentiate yourself?
Well, for 30 years, we have been and still are a unique brand and have always brought fun and glamour to the airline at no extra cost. We undoubtedly have one of the best business class cabins in the world. Both out of Delhi and now Mumbai, we will have the brand new A330 flying and the best connectivity from India to the UK and the US. And to top that, we have magical Virgin touches from our warm Indian crew, Indian food and Bollywood movies. We also understand Indian consumers like to carry more luggage and hence we are the only airline that gives two bags in economy to London free. Essentially, we bring the fun and glamour like no one else at a fair price.
You had a vibrant brand with a great international appeal, but you were slow in growing big in India, unlike other carriers, especially the West Asians.
We didn't have the right slots and now that we have, we are here for another party. To blindly grow just for the sake of growing can put the entire airline at risk as we have seen in India. We will apply for slots to fly to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Goa and hopefully, will be here for another party sometime soon.
Is high fuel cost a big deterrent?
Yes, fuel, which we have no control on, is one of the biggest challenges airlines face today and hence it's important we develop an alternative fuel that is commercially viable and sustainable. I have been vocal about this for a long time and Virgin Atlantic was the first to challenge the belief that sustainable fuels cannot be successfully used in flight. All airlines followed with test flights after us.
We are working with a company called Lanzatech that uses a new technology to capture waste gases coming from steel plants and converts them into ethanol. They are working with steel plants in China and India at the moment. With the steel industry alone able to deliver over 15 billion gallons of jet fuel annually, the potential is very exciting.
Do you want to try some other business in India?
If India decides to privatize its railways, we'd love to evaluate opportunities in India. Virgin Mobile is doing well as well.
What is the common thread of your various businesses?
Across businesses, we are the best in the category and not necessarily the biggest.
Do you ever get bored?
I love my life and for now, I have loads of challenges lined up. Most of my time is now spent setting up not-for-profit ventures and help solve conflicts and issues in the world. There are loads of problems in the world and each day is full of promise and potential.
There's so much to achieve in this lifetime. Virgin Galactic is one of my biggest dreams and I really hope in 15-20 years, people with basic salaries will be able to travel to space and not just the super-rich.
Given a choice, do you want to buy an ailing Indian carrier or an American carrier?
I'd like to buy both! But currently, we're focusing on our routes to and from India and the US and not as such on investing in carriers. We have strong partners across the world and, for the moment, are keen to focus on our strategy on them.
What is your take on Indian airlines?
The Indian economy is a huge growth story. I know it has slowed down a bit but back in the UK, we are celebrating 1% growth figure. IndiGo has been a great success story and I hope the airlines that are in real trouble can revive for the sake of their employees.
What do you like the most in India?
With 50% of India's population under 25 years of age, I think the potential is immense. I love the culture and the vibrancy of the country. I love Mumbai and Delhi and I hope we fly to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Goa for a few parties soon.
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/XK2X7glJKrDzPreida4jFK/If-Indian-railways-is-privatized-wed-love-to-evaluate-opp.html
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Indian Railways
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThis article is about the organization. For general information on railways in India, see Rail transport in India.Indian Railways 
Type Government-owned corporation Industry Railways Founded 16 April 1853[1] Headquarters New Delhi, India Area served India Services Passenger railways
freight services
bus transportation
travel agency services
parking lot operations
other related servicesRevenue 
106,647 crore (US$20.16 billion) (2011–12)[2]Net income 9,610 crore (US$1.82 billion) (2011–12)[2]Owner(s) Government of India (100%) Employees 1.4 million (2011)[3] Divisions 17 Railway Zones Website www.indianrailways.gov.in Indian Railways Reporting mark IR Locale India Dates of operation 16 April 1853–Present Track gauge 1676 mm; 1000 mm; 762 mm; 610 mm Electrification 21,500 km Length 65,000 km Headquarters New Delhi, India Website www.indianrailways.gov.in Indian Railways (reporting mark IR) is an Indian state-owned enterprise, owned and operated by the government of India through the Ministry of Railways. It is one of the world's largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km (71,000 mi) of track over a route of 65,000 km (40,000 mi) and 7,500 stations. IR carries about 7,500 million passengers annually or more than 20 million passengers daily (more than a half of which are suburban passengers) and 2.8 million tons of freight daily. In 2011-2012 Indian Railways earned
104,278.79 crore (US$19.71 billion) which consists of 69,675.97 crore (US$13.17 billion) from freight and 28,645.52 crore (US$5.41 billion) from passengers tickets.Railways were first introduced to India in 1853 from Bombay to Thane. In 1951 the systems were nationalized as one unit, the Indian Railways, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. IR operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge network of broad, metre and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities at several places in India and are assigned codes identifying their gauge, kind of power and type of operation. Its operations cover twenty four states and three union territories and also provides limited international services to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Indian Railways is the world's fourth largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with over 1.4 million employees. As for rolling stock, IR holds over 229,381 Freight Wagons, 59,713 Passenger Coaches and 9,213 Locomotives. The trains have a 5 digit numbering system as the Indian Railways runs about 10,000 trains daily. As of 31 March 2012, 22,224 km (13,809 mi) (34%) of the total 65,000 km (40,000 mi) km route length was electrified.[4] Since 1960, almost all electrified sections on IR use 25,000 Volt AC traction through overhead catenary delivery.
Contents
History
Main article: History of rail transport in India
The B.B. & C.I. Railway Head Offices, 1905
The history of rail transport in India began in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1849, there was not a single kilometre of railway line in India. A British engineer, Robert Maitland Brereton, was responsible for the expansion of the railways from 1857 onwards. The Allahabad-Jubbulpore branch line of the East Indian Railway had been opened in June 1867. Brereton was responsible for linking this with the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, resulting in a combined network of 6,400 km (4,000 mi). Hence it became possible to travel directly from Bombay to Calcutta. This route was officially opened on 7 March 1870 and it was part of the inspiration for French writer Jules Verne's book Around the World in Eighty Days. At the opening ceremony, the Viceroy Lord Mayo concluded that "it was thought desirable that, if possible, at the earliest possible moment, the whole country should be covered with a network of lines in a uniform system". [5]
By 1875, about £95 million were invested by British companies in Indian guaranteed railways.[6] By 1880 the network had a route mileage of about 14,500 km (9,000 mi), mostly radiating inward from the three major port cities of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. By 1895, India had started building its own locomotives, and in 1896 sent engineers and locomotives to help build the Uganda Railways.
In 1900, the GIPR became a government owned company. The network spread to the modern day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh and soon various independent kingdoms began to have their own rail systems. In 1905, an early Railway Board was constituted, but the powers were formally invested under Lord Curzon.[7] It served under the Department of Commerce and Industry and had a government railway official serving as chairman, and a railway manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways as the other two members. For the first time in its history, the Railways began to make a profit.
In 1907 almost all the rail companies were taken over by the government. The following year, the first electric locomotive made its appearance. With the arrival of World War I, the railways were used to meet the needs of the British outside India. With the end of the war, the railways were in a state of disrepair and collapse.
In 1920, with the network having expanded to 61,220 km, a need for central management was mooted by Sir William Acworth. Based on the East India Railway Committee chaired by Acworth, the government took over the management of the Railways and detached the finances of the Railways from other governmental revenues.
The period between 1920 and 1929 was a period of economic boom; there were 41,000 miles of railway lines serving the country; the railways represented a capital value of some 687 million sterling; and they carried over 620 million passengers and approximately 90 million tons of goods each year.[8] Following the Great Depression, the railways suffered economically for the next eight years. The Second World War severely crippled the railways. Starting 1939, about 40% of the rolling stock including locomotives and coaches was taken to the Middle East, the railways workshops were converted to ammunitions workshops and many railway tracks were dismantled to help the British in their war. By 1946 all rail systems had been taken over by the government.
Organisational structure
Main article: Indian Railway organisational structureRailway zones
Indian Railways headquarters Delhi
Central Railway headquarters Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai
Western Railway HQ, MumbaiIndian Railways is divided into several zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1952 and sixteen in 2003.[9][10] Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-eight divisions.[3][11]
Each of the sixteen zones is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further divided into divisions under the control of Divisional Railway Managers (DRM). The divisional officers of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal and telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial and safety branches report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation and maintenance of assets. Further down the hierarchy tree are the Station Masters who control individual stations and the train movement through the track territory under their stations' administration.
Recruitment and training
Main article: Centralised Training Institutes of the Indian RailwaysStaff are classified into gazetted (Group 'A' and 'B') and non-gazetted (Group 'C' and 'D') employees.[12] The recruitment of Group 'A' gazetted employees is carried out by the Union Public Service Commission through exams conducted by it.[13] The recruitment to Group 'C' and 'D' employees on the Indian Railways is done through 20 Railway Recruitment Boards which are controlled by the Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB).[14] The training of all cadres is entrusted and shared between six centralized training institutes.
Production units
A modern pantograph. The device shown is technically a half-pantograph.
CLW made WAP-5 30022(CLW made WAP-5 locos don't have fluted body shell) rests at Bhopal
WDP4 Diesel Locomotive Baaz which is now at New JalpaiguriIndian Railways manufactures much of its rolling stock and heavy engineering components at its six manufacturing plants, called Production Units, which are managed directly by the Ministry. Popular rolling stock builders such as CLW and DLW for electric and diesel locomotives; ICF and RCF for passenger coaches are Production Units of Indian Railways. Over the years, Indian Railways has not only achieved self-sufficiency in production of rolling stock in the country but also exported rolling stock to other countries. Each of these six production units is headed by a General Manager, who also reports directly to the Railway Board. The six Production Units are:-
Sl. No Name Abbr. Year Established Location Main products 1. Golden Rock Locomotive Workshops GOC 1928 Trichy Diesel-electric Locomotives 2. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works CLW 1947 Chittaranjan, Asansol Electric Locomotives 3. Diesel Locomotive Works DLW 1961 Varanasi Diesel Locomotives 4. Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works DMW 1981 Patiala Diesel-electric Locomotives 5. Integral Coach Factory ICF 1952 Chennai Passenger coaches 6. Rail Coach Factory RCF 1986 Kapurthala Passenger coaches 7. Rail Wheel Factory RWF 1984 Bangalore Railway wheels and axles 8. Rail Wheel Factory RWF 2011 Chhapra Railway wheels and axles Other subsidiaries
There also exist independent organizations under the control of the Railway Board for electrification, modernization, research and design and training of officers, each of which is headed by an officer of the rank of General Manager. A number of Public Sector Undertakings, which perform railway-related functions ranging from consultancy to ticketing, are also under the administrative control of the Ministry of railways.
There are eleven public undertakings under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways,[15] viz.
- Bharat Wagon and Engineering Co. Ltd. (BWEL)
- Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS)[16]
- Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR)
- Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL)
- Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC)
- Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) International Limited
- Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC)
- Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL)
- Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC)
- Railtel Corporation of India Limited (Rail Tel)
- Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (RITES)
- Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL)
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), that has constructed and operates Delhi Metro network, is an independent organisation not connected to the Indian Railways. Similar metro rail corporations in other ciities (except Kolkata Metro in Kolkata) are not connected to the Indian Railways.
Rolling stock
Locomotives
Main article: Locomotives in India
Two steam engines at water refilling station at Agra station
A Beyer Garratt 6594 Engine seen at the National Rail MuseumLocomotives in India consist of electric and diesel locomotives. Steam locomotives are no longer used, except in heritage trains. Locomotives are also called locos or engines. In India, locomotives are classified according to their track gauge, motive power, the work they are suited for and their power or model number. The class name includes this information about the locomotive. It comprises 4 or 5 letters. The first letter denotes the track gauge. The second letter denotes their motive power (Diesel or Electric) and the third letter denotes the kind of traffic for which they are suited (goods, passenger, mixed or shunting). The fourth letter used to denote locomotives' chronological model number. However, from 2002 a new classification scheme has been adopted. Under this system, for newer diesel locomotives, the fourth letter will denote their horsepower range. Electric locomotives don't come under this scheme and even all diesel locos are not covered. For them this letter denotes their model number as usual.
A locomotive may sometimes have a fifth letter in its name which generally denotes a technical variant or subclass or subtype. This fifth letter indicates some smaller variation in the basic model or series, perhaps different motors, or a different manufacturer. With the new scheme for classifying diesel locomotives (as mentioned above) the fifth item is a letter that further refines the horsepower indication in 100 hp increments: 'A' for 100 hp, 'B' for 200 hp, 'C' for 300 hp, etc. So in this scheme, a WDM-3A refers to a 3100 hp loco, while a WDM-3F would be a 3600 hp loco.
Note: This classification system does not apply to steam locomotives in India as they have become non-functional now. They retained their original class names such as M class or WP class.
As of 31 March 2010, Indian Railways had 5,022 diesel locomotives (increased from 17 on 31 March 1951), 3,825 electric locomotives (increased from 72 on 31 March 1951) and 42 steam locomotives (decreased from 8,120 on 31 March 1951) (see Railway Budget 2012-13 Explantory Memorandum).
Goods wagons or freight cars
The number of freight car or goods wagons was 205,596 on 31 March 1951 and reached the maximum number 405,183 on 31 March 1980 after which it started declining and was 219,931 on 31 March 2010. The number is far shorter than the requirement and the Indian Railways keeps losing freight traffic to road. Indian Railways carried 93 million tonnes of goods in 1950-51 and it increased to 892 tonnes in 2009-10.
However, its share in goods traffic is much lower than road traffic. In 1951, its share was 65% and the share of road was 35%. Now the shares have been reversed and the share of railways has declined to 30% and the share of road has increased to 70%.
Passenger coaches
Indian railways has several types of passenger coaches.
Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) coaches are used for suburban traffic in large cities - mainly Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. These coaches numbered 7,474 on 31 March 2010. They have second class and first class seating accommodation.
Passenger coaches numbered 43,518 on 31 March 2010. Other coaches (luggage coach, parcel van, guard's coach, mail coach, etc.) numbered 6,505 on 31 March 2010.
Freight
Indian Railways earns about 70% of its revenues from the freight traffic (Rs.686.2 billion from freight and Rs.304.6 billion from passengers in 2011-12). Most of its profits come from movement of freight. It makes a loss on passenger traffic. It deliberately keeps its passenger fares low and cross-subsidises the loss-making passenger traffic with the profit-making freight traffic.
Since the 1990s, Indian Railways has stopped single-wagon consignments and provides only full rake freight trains for goods. Most of its freight earnings come from movement of bulk goods such as coal, cement, food grains and iron ore in full rakes. It is continually losing freight traffic to road.
Technical details
Track and gauge
Indian railways uses four gauges, the 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge which is wider than the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge; the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge; and two narrow gauges, 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) and 610 mm (2 ft) . Track sections are rated for speeds ranging from 75 to 160 km/h (47 to 99 mph).
The total length of track used by Indian Railways is about 115,000 km (71,000 mi) while the total route length of the network is 65,000 km (40,000 mi).[17] About 22,224 km (13,809 mi) or 34% of the route-kilometre was electrified as on 31 March 2012.[4]
Broad gauge is the predominant gauge used by Indian Railways. Indian broad gauge—1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)—is the most widely used gauge in India with 105,000 km (65,000 mi) of track length (91% of entire track length of all the gauges) and 56,000 km (35,000 mi) of route-kilometre (86% of entire route-kilometre of all the gauges).
In some regions with less traffic, the metre gauge (1,000 mm/3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) is common, although the Unigauge project is in progress to convert all tracks to broad gauge. The metre gauge has about 8,000 km (5,000 mi) of track length (7% of entire track length of all the gauges) and 7,000 km (4,300 mi) of route-kilometre (10% of entire route-kilometre of all the gauges).
The Narrow gauges are present on a few routes, lying in hilly terrains and in some erstwhile private railways (on cost considerations), which are usually difficult to convert to broad gauge. Narrow gauges have 2,000 route-kilometre. The Kalka-Shimla Railway, the Kangra Valley Railway and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway are three notable hill lines that use narrow gauge, but the Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a metre gauge track.[18] These four rail lines will not be converted under the Unigauge project.
The Indian Railways serves every major populated region in the countryThe share of broad gauge in the total route-kilometre has been steadily rising, increasing from 47% (25,258 route-km) in 1951 to 86% in 2012 whereas the share of metre gauge has declined from 45% (24,185 route-km) to 10% in the same period and the share of narrow gauges has decreased from 8% to 3%. However, the total route-kilometre has increased by only 21% (by just 11,500 km from 53,596 route-km in 1951) in the last sixty years or about 200 km per year. This compares very poorly with Chinese railways, which increased from about 27,000 route-km at the end of second world war to about 100,000 route-km in 2011, an increase of more than threefold. More than 28,000 route-km (34% of the total route-km) of Chinese railway is electrified compared to only about 21,500 route-km of Indian railways.
Sleepers (ties) are made up of prestressed concrete, or steel or cast iron posts, though teak sleepers are still in use on a few older lines. The prestressed concrete sleeper is in wide use today. Metal sleepers were extensively used before the advent of concrete sleepers. Indian Railways divides the country into four zones on the basis of the range of track temperature. The greatest temperature variations occur in Rajasthan.
Narrow Gauge Train at Rajim, ChhattisgarhRailway links to adjacent countries
Existing rail links:
- Nepal – Break-of-gauge – Gauge conversion under uni-gauge project
- Pakistan – same Broad Gauge. Thar Express to Karachi and the more famous Samjhauta Express international train from Lahore, Pakistan to Amritsar (Attari).
- Bangladesh – Same Broad Gauge. The Maitri Express between Dhaka and Kolkata started in April 2008 using the Gede-Darsana route, in addition to a Freight Train service from Singhabad and Petrapole in India to Rohanpur and Benapole in Bangladesh A second passenger link between Agartala, India and Akhaura Upazila, Bangladesh was approved by the Government of Bangladesh & India in September 2011.[19]
Under construction / Proposed links:
- Bhutan – railways under construction – Same gauge
- Myanmar – Manipur to Myanmar (under construction)
- Vietnam – On 9 April 2010, Former Union Minister of India, Shashi Tharoor announced that the central government is considering a rail link from Manipur to Vietnam via Myanmar.[20]
- Thailand - possible if Burma Railway is rebuilt.[21]
Types of passenger services
Trains are classified by their average speed.[22] A faster train has fewer stops ("halts") than a slower one and usually caters to long-distance travel.
Rank Train Description 1 Duronto Express These are the non-stop point to point rail services (except for operational stops) introduced for the first time in 2009 . They connect the metros and major state capitals of India and are faster than Rajdhani Express. The Duronto services consists of classes of accommodation namely first AC, two-tier AC, three-tier AC, AC 3 Tier Economy, Sleeper Class, General Class. 2 Rajdhani Express These are all air-conditioned trains linking major cities to New Delhi. The Rajdhanis have high priority and are one of the fastest trains in India, travelling at about 130 km/h (82 mph). There are only a few stops on a Rajdhani route. 3 Shatabdi Express The Shatabdi trains are AC intercity seater-type trains for travel during day. 4 Garib Rath Fully air conditioned trains, designed for those who cannot afford to travel in the expensive Shatabti and Rajdhani Express. Garib Rath means "Chariot of the Poor". The maximum speed is 130 km/h. 5 Jan Shatabdi Jan Shatabdi Express are a more affordable variety of the Shatabdi Express, which has both AC and non-AC classes. The maximum speed is 130 km/h. 6 Sampark Kranti Express Sampark Kranti Express trains are a series of trains that provide quick connectivity from a particular state to the national capital, New Delhi. 7 Superfast Express/Mail These are trains that have an average speed greater than 55 km/h (34 mph). Tickets for these trains have an additional super-fast surcharge. 8 Express These are the most common kind of trains in India. They have more stops than their super-fast counterparts, but they stop only at relatively important intermediate stations. 9 Passenger and Fast Passenger These are slow trains that stop at most stations along the route and are the cheapest trains. The trains generally have unreserved seating accommodation but some night trains have sleeper, First Class and 3A compartments. 10 Suburban trains These trains operate in the urban areas of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and between Kanpur & Lucknow,usually stop at all stations and have unreserved seating accommodation. 11 Metros and Monorails These trains are designed for city transport in metro cities of India. 
Delhi Duronto Express, as it rolls out of Sealdah with a Ghaziabad WAP 7 in Duronto liveryAccommodation classes
Indian Railways has several classes of travel with or without airconditioning. A train may have just one or many classes of travel. Slow passenger trains have only unreserved seating class whereas Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains have only airconditioned classes. The fares for all classes are different with unreserved seating class being the cheapest. The fare of Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains includes food served in the train but the fare for other trains does not include food that has to be bought separately. In long-distance trains a pantry car is usually included and food is served at the berth or seat itself. Luxury trains such as Palace on Wheels have separate dining cars but these trains cost as much as or more than a five-star hotel room.
A standard passenger rake generally has four unreserved (also called "general") compartments, two at the front and two at the end, of which one may be exclusively for ladies. The exact number of other coaches varies according to the demand and the route. A luggage compartment can also exist at the front or the back. In some mail trains a separate mail coach is attached. Lavatories are communal and feature both the Indian style as well as the Western style.
The following table lists the classes in operation. A train may not have all these classes.
Class[23] Description[23][24] 1A First class AC: This is the most expensive class, where the fares are almost at par with air fare. There are eight cabins (including two coupes) in the full AC First Class coach and three cabins (including one coupe) in the half AC First Class coach. The coach has an attendant to help the passengers. Bedding is included with the fare in IR. This air conditioned coach is present only on popular routes and can carry 18 passengers (full coach) or 10 passengers (half coach). The sleeper berths are extremely wide and spacious. The coaches are carpeted, have sleeping accommodation and have privacy features like personal coupes. This class is available on broad gauge and metre gauge trains. 2A AC-Two tier: These air-conditioned coaches have sleeping berths across eight bays. Berths are usually arranged in two tiers in bays of six, four across the width of the coach and two berths longways on the other side of the gangway or corridor, with curtains along the gangway or corridor. Bedding is included with the fare. A broad gauge coach can carry 48 passengers (full coach) or 20 passengers (half coach). This class is available on broad gauge and metre gauge trains. FC First class: Same as 1AC but without air conditioning. No bedding is available in this class. The berths are wide and spacious. There is a coach attendant to help the passengers. This class has been phased out on most of the trains and is rare to find. However narrow gauge trains to hill stations have this class. 3A AC three tier: Air conditioned coaches with 64 sleeping berths. Berths are usually arranged as in 2AC but with three tiers across the width and two longways as before giving eight bays of eight. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is included with fare. It carries 64 passengers in broad gauge. This class is available only on broad gauge. 3E AC three tier (Economy): Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths, present in Garib Rath Trains. Berths are usually arranged as in 3AC but with three tiers across the width and three longways. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is not included with fare. CC AC chair car: An air-conditioned seater coach with a total of five seats in a row used for day travel between cities. EC Executive class chair car: An air-conditioned coach with large spacious seats and legroom. It has a total of four seats in a row used for day travel between cities. This class of travel is only available on Shatabdi Express trains. SL Sleeper class: The sleeper class is the most common coach on IR, and usually ten or more coaches could be attached. These are regular sleeping coaches with three berths vertically stacked. In broad gauge, it carries 72 passengers per coach. 2S Seater class: same as AC Chair car, but with bench style seats and without the air-conditioning. These may be rserved in advance or may be unreserved. UR Unreserved: The cheapest accommodation. The seats are usually made up of pressed wood in older coaches but cushioned seats are found in new coaches. These coaches are usually over-crowded and a seat is not guaranteed. Tickets are issued in advace for a minimum journey of more than 24 hours. Tickets issued are valid on any train on the same route if boarded within 24 hours of buying the ticket. 
Seen here is the Mumbai Rajdhani Express. Rajdhanis are long-distance high-speed and high-priority trains connecting major state capitals with New Delhi
Interior of a First Class(1A) compartment in the Rajdhani Express
Air-conditioned Chair Car (CC) coaches in an Shatabdi Express.
Interior of an air-conditioned Chair Car coach(CC) in an Jan Shatabdi Express.
A typical sleeper class coachAt the rear of the train is a special compartment known as the guard's cabin. It is fitted with a transceiver and is where the guard usually gives the all clear signal before the train departs.
Notable trains and achievements
The Golden Chariot
"Science Express", a joint Indo-German multimedia exhibition
A view of the Pamban Railway Bridge that links Rameshwaram to the mainland. Thousands of pilgrims cross the sea every day to visit the island.There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on IR – the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus[25] and the Mountain Railways of India. The latter consists of three separate railway lines located in different parts of India:[26]
- Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow gauge railway in West Bengal.
- Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a metre gauge railway in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu.
- Kalka-Shimla Railway, a narrow gauge railway in the Shivalik mountains in Himachal Pradesh. In 2003 the railway was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for offering the steepest rise in altitude in the space of 96 kilometre.[27]
- Maharaja Railways (Gwalior Light Railway), a narrow gauge line of just 610mm width from Gwalior to Sheopur of 198 km. in length is world's longest narrow gauge railway line is in the UNESCO world heritage tentative list.
- Neral-Matheran Railway, a narrow gauge railway connecting Matheran is also a historic line.
- Palace on Wheels is a specially designed train, frequently hauled by a steam locomotive, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. On the same lines, the Maharashtra government introduced the Deccan Odyssey covering various tourist destinations in Maharashtra and Goa, and was followed by the Government of Karnataka which introduced the Golden Chariot train connecting popular tourist destinations in Karnataka and Goa. However, neither of them has been able to enjoy the popular success of the Palace on Wheels.
- Samjhauta Express is a train that runs between India and Pakistan. However, hostilities between the two nations in 2001 saw the line being closed. It was reopened when the hostilities subsided in 2004. Another train connecting Khokhrapar (Pakistan) and Munabao (India) is the Thar Express that restarted operations on 18 February 2006; it was earlier closed down after the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
- Lifeline Express is a special train popularly known as the "Hospital-on-Wheels" which provides healthcare to the rural areas. This train has a carriage that serves as an operating room, a second one which serves as a storeroom and an additional two that serve as a patient ward. The train travels around the country, staying at a location for about two months before moving elsewhere.
- Among the famous locomotives, the Fairy Queen is the oldest operating locomotive in the world today, though it is operated only for specials between Delhi and Alwar. John Bull, a locomotive older than Fairy Queen, operated in 1981 commemorating its 150th anniversary. Kharagpur railway station also has the distinction of being the world's longest railway platform at 1,072 m (3,517 ft). The Ghum station along the Darjeeling Toy Train route is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by a steam locomotive.[28] The Mumbai–Pune Deccan Queen has the oldest running dining car in IR.
- Vivek Express, between Dibrugarh and Kanyakumari, has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 4,286 km (2,663 mi) in about 82 hours and 30 minutes.
- Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, has the second longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 3,715 km (2,308 mi) in about 69 hours and 30 minutes. The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India today having a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) on the Faridabad–Agra section. The fastest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114 mph) in 2000 during test runs.
- The third longest train in terms of distance on Indian Railways network is navyug express between jammu tawi to mangalore covering a distance of 3609 k.m
- Trivandrum Rajdhani is the longest non stop train in on Indian Railways network covering 528 km
Double-decker AC trains have been introduced in India. The first double decker train was Flying Rani introduced in 2005 while the first double-decker AC train in the Indian Railways was introduced in November 2010, running between the Dhanbad and Howrah stations having 10 coaches and 2 power cars.[29]
Problems and issues
A large number of bridges have exceeded their life and need to be replaced. Speed restrictions have to placed on such bridges and this reduces the average speed. Maintenance of tracks is generally manually done and needs to be mechanised.
Indian Railways has outdated communication, safety and signaling equipment on many of its tracks. The speed of updating these with the latest technology is very slow. Manual signally system on the tracks increases the distances between trains and reduces their speeds besides being the cause of a number of train accidents. Interlocking system is available on only a few routes.
The personnel costs and operating costs have increased several times over the past decade but the passenger fares have not been increased. The passenger services are being run at a loss. Freight rates are increased to cross-subsidise the loss in passenger traffic. This drives away the freight traffic to road. Maintenance of passenger coaches and goods wagons is poor and results in derailment and other accidents. Sanitation in trains and stations is poor.
Lack of profit in operations does not allow capital expenditure on better technology in any field. New railway line projects are announced without securing funding for them. The paucity of funds causes time and cost overrun. A large number of these projects are not profitable. A large number of them do not get completed within the scheduled time. As on 31 March 2011, 347 projects including new lines, doubling and gauge conversion were pending and their project cost had escalated to Rs.1,472 billion.[30] However, the railway budget for 2012-13 provided only Rs.130 billion for the projects.
See also
- Bilaspur-Mandi-Leh Railway
- List of countries by rail transport network size
- List of railway stations in India
- Rail transport in India
Notes
- ^ "Times Of India". The Times Of India (India). 15 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Railways Fiscal Budget 2012". Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ a b Indian Railways Year Book (2009–2010). Ministry of Railways, Government of India. 2011. p. 13. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
- ^ a b http://im1.indiarailinfo.com/506503/0/remapa309072012.jpg
- ^ R.P. Saxena, Indian Railway History Timeline
- ^ British investment in Indian railway reaches £100m by 1875
- ^ History of Indian Railways
- ^ Sandes, Lt Col E.W.C. (1935). The Military Engineer in India, Vol II. Chatham: The Institution of Royal Engineers.
- ^ http://www.indianrail.gov.in/ir_zones.pdf
- ^ Singh, Vijay Pratap (27 Feb 2010). "SMS complaint system: A Northern Railway brainwave spreads". Indian Express. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
- ^ "Zones and their Divisions in Indian Railways". Indian Railways. Retrieved 26 August 2011 format=PDF.
- ^ "Railway Board Directorates". INDIAN RAILWAY ESTABLISHMENT CODE. Indian Railways.
- ^ "Indian Railways level which constitutes the Governing Council of Association". irts.org.in.
- ^ "Indian Railways Establishment Manual". rrcb.gov.in.
- ^ "administrative control of the railways". indianrailways.
- ^ "set up as a registered society to design and implement various railway computerization projects.". CENTRE FOR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS.
- ^ compiled and edited by Research, Reference and Training Division. (2011). India Yearbook 2011. Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India. ISBN 978-81-230-1674-0.
- ^ "Toy Trains Of India". Our Trips – Royal Train Tours. India Calling Tours (P) Limited. Retrieved 12 May 2007.
- ^ India approves new railway link with Bangladesh | TwoCircles.net
- ^ "Rail link from Manipur to Vietnam on cards: Tharoor". The Times Of India (India). 9 April 2010.
- ^ Neighbours to the west get closer | Bangkok Post: news
- ^ "railway operations — I". IRFCA.org. Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
- ^ a b "General Information on travelling by IR". IRFCA.org. Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Class of Travel". indiarail.co.uk. S.D.Enterprises Ltd. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus)". World Heritage List. World Heritage Committee. 2004. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- ^ "Mountain Railways of India". World Heritage List. World Heritage Committee. 1999. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- ^ "100 years of pine-scented travel". Retrieved 14 February 2009.
- ^ "Hill trains". Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
- ^ "The curious case of Vijay Mallya - Yahoo! News". In.news.yahoo.com. 2011-04-20. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
- ^ http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-27/news/32889414_1_tardy-progress-cost-escalation-railways
References
Scholarly studies
- Aguiar, Marian. Tracking Modernity: India's Railway and the Culture of Mobility (2011)
- Bear, Laura. Lines of the Nation: Indian Railway Workers, Bureaucracy, and the Intimate Historical Self (Columbia University Press, 2007); 360 pp. ISBN 978-0-231-14002-7.
- Tiwari, Ramswarup D. Railways In Modern India (1941) excerpt and text search
- V.M. Govind Krishnan NMR (Nilgiri Mountain Railway)- From Lifeline to Oblivion
Popular sources
- "Indian Railways FAQ". Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 18 June 2006.
- "IR History: Early Days". Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- "Railway Zones". Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- "Railways Reservation". [Railwayreservation.org]. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- "Famous Trains". Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- "Freight Trains". Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- "Miscellaneous material on Indian Railways". Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 18 June 2006.
- "Trivia". Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- "Salient Features of Indian Railways". Indian Railways. Archived from the original on 18 June 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- "Indian Railway takes the E-route". Times of India (India). 19 June 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- "The Rediff Interview". Rediff.com. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- "A poor track record". Frontline magazine online. Retrieved 19 June 2005.
- Various authors (2004). Guinness Book of World Records-2005. Guinness World Records Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-192-6.
- "Railway Budget 2010–2011". India Rail Info. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- "5 digit Train Numbering". The Times Of India (India). 19 December 2010.
- "Rail Budget (2012-13) - highlights". TOI. 14-Mar-12.
- "Rail budget: How much your ticket will cost now". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15-Mar-12.
External links
- PNR status Indian Railways PNR Status quick check
- PNR status Railway PNR Status
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