India’s railways steam ahead

While the list of negative things that the British Empire did during its near-200-year rule in India is seemingly endless, there is at least one lasting legacy that has been enthusiastically embraced by Indians. The railways that stretch across the vast territory are widely regarded as one of the few positives to have emerged from Britain’s rule in India, connecting up far flung parts of the country and boosting trade across the region. They have been used extensively ever since, forming the backbone of India’s transport network. However, increasingly huge demand teamed with years of neglect has meant that many of the creaking services are no longer up to the standard needed to transport India’s 1.2 billion citizens.

The various improvements to be made to the network are likely to be substantial

At the beginning of this year however, the Indian Government, led by reformist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced that it would be undertaking a five-year investment in the railways. The $137bn scheme is aimed at dramatically improving the reliability, comfort and speed of services across the length and breadth of the country.

Jewel in the crown
The rickety old trains look like they need a massive upgrade, but they have nonetheless successfully served millions of users every year at the same time as providing a far more comfortable service than most business travellers would get in any other parts of the world. While not exactly gourmet eating, food is provided for travellers, as well as an unremitting supply of hot, sweet tea. Comfortable and spacious seats are also far more common than the hard-backed plastic ones that many commuters in the West are forced to sit on. For longer distances, there are also the world-famous sleeper carriages that many Western countries did away with during cost-cutting efforts decades ago.

With India serving as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the British Empire, heavy investment in improving the infrastructure of the region was undertaken during the mid-1800s. In order to quickly gain access to all of India’s rich resources and ship them back to Britain, an extensive network of rail lines was constructed throughout the region: the first was the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which opened in 1853 and ran between Bombay and Thane. A few years later, the entire network was dramatically expanded under the supervision of English engineer Robert Maitland Bereton. Bereton linked the route between Bombay and Thane with the East Indian Railway’s Allahabad-to-Jabalpur line in 1867, which expanded the network to around 4,000 miles in total, thus enabling easy access between the western port city of Bombay and the eastern coastal city and British Raj’s capital, Calcutta.

Officially opened in 1870, the route is famous for helping to inspire Jules Verne’s classic book Around the World in Eighty Days. It was one of the earliest examples of a train route that would enable people to travel from one remote region to another, and greatly accelerated the British desire to expand the network across the rest of the country.

Historic investments
Within a few years, British companies had invested nearly £100m in the network. These massive upgrades saw the system connecting all three major port cities – Bombay on the west coast, Calcutta on the east, and the southeastern city of Madras (now known as Chennai) – and stretching more than 9,000 miles in total.

The government had taken control of most of the network by the turn of the century, and by 1905 it had become a profitable enterprise. In the aftermath of the First World War – when the rail links were used predominantly to ship resources to the British Army troops outside of the country – a considerable effort was made to expand the network and repair existing lines. For the subsequent 10 years, it rapidly grew to 41,000 miles in length, catering for around 620 million passengers each year.

By the time that India gained independence from British rule in 1947, the government had control of the entire network, and in 1951 it created the state-owned Indian Railways company. However, the Second World War had done considerable damage to the grid, and despite it being in serious need of an upgrade ever since, there has been little in the way of investment over the last 70 years – certainly not at the levels seen in other developing nations.

India’s notoriously bureaucratic system of government and indecision over infrastructure projects has resulted in a network that currently stretches across the entirety of the country using out-of-date technology and unreliable trains, making it incapable of carrying the 23 million passengers who require it every day. With over 1.3 million employees and 8.4 billion journeys being made every year, Indian Railways has been in serious need of an upgrade on a scale that has never been seen in its 161-year history.

However, with business-friendly Prime Minister Narendra Modi sweeping to power last year, hopes were raised that a massive investment in updating the network could be just around the corner. Those dreams became a reality earlier this year, when a vast amount of money was set aside for a five-year plan that would bring India’s rail network in line with other modern rivals.

Announcing the new rail budget to India’s parliament in February, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said that it would restore the backbone of the country after years of neglect: “We must restore the strength of Bhartiya (India) Rail as the backbone of our country’s transportation infrastructure. Unfortunately, railway facilities have not improved very substantially over the past few decades. A fundamental reason for this is the chronic underinvestment in railways, which has led to congestion and over-utilisation. As a consequence, capacity augmentation suffers, safety is challenged and the quality of service delivery declines, leading to poor morale, reduced efficiency, sub-optimal freight and passenger traffic, and fewer financial resources. This again feeds the vicious cycle of under-investment.”

Overdue improvements
The various improvements to be made to the network are likely to be substantial. While a long-overdue digital platform for purchasing tickets has now finally been launched, other simplifications are necessary for the country’s overly complicated existing ticketing » system. At the same time, better connectivity on commuter trains would be greatly appreciated by India’s many businesspeople that have to travel long distances for work, and air conditioning as standard is also likely to be high on many people’s lists of improvements. Arguably the area of utmost importance to travellers, however, is improving the cleanliness of the trains – the terrifyingly squalid condition of many on-board bathrooms has long been an issue for the rail industry, and so the plans over the coming years also include the introduction of environmentally friendly bio-toilets.

The most important investment to the network itself, however, is in ensuring the trains are running reliably and on time. Faster trains would evidently be welcomed in such a vast country, but merely ensuring that services are both on time and cancellations are kept to a minimum will greatly improve conditions on the whole. At the same time, security will also need to be a key focus of the improvements – the five-year plan will focus on a number of areas, but in particular that of safety and security, said Prabhu. “Over the next five years, the railways have to undergo a transformation. We have to make Indian Railways a benchmark organisation in safety, security and infrastructure.”

The economic benefits of improving the rail network could be vast, believes Prabhu, and the continued period of underinvestment by successive governments must be terminated. “This cycle must be put to an end. Once it [is], the gains to the economy will be immense: better services, improved connectivity for all citizens including the poorer segments of our society, lower costs and improved competitiveness. Investment in the railways will have a large multiplier effect on the rest of the economy and will create more jobs in the economy for the poor. Investment in Indian Railways is also necessary for environmental sustainability and [the] wellbeing of future generations.”

Paying for all these improvements will prove costly, but fortunately for India’s rail travellers, it is the government that will foot the bill. The government would not be raising ticket prices in order to pay for the improvements, said Prabhu: “There will be no hike in railway passenger fares. We will focus on improving passenger amenities, including cleanliness.”

Luxury routes
India’s rail network was once the envy of the world and a source of great pride for its citizens. However, a lack of attention over the last half century has meant that other countries have since surpassed it in terms of both technology and reliability. Restoring this once-great network could be the catalyst that catapults India toward finally realising its economic potential.

However, while the routes that serve ordinary Indians have little regard for luxury, there are many tourist services that offer an extremely lavish experience. Serving many of the country’s busiest and most eye-catching destinations, these heritage routes offer travellers a method of travel that is more comfortable and scenic than most other forms of transport. Luxury sleeper cabins and gourmet dining can be enjoyed as tourists are shuttled between some of India’s most popular regions. Over the pages of this report, Business Destinations has gathered together some of the most exclusive luxury routes in the country.