Switching On: Why Investment in India’s Railways is Key to Tackling Major Urban Issues
India’s urban population is growing rapidly2. Improved job prospects, services and infrastructure in India’s cities have contributed to the unprecedented – and often unplanned – growth of urban India2. From 2001-2011 the Indian urban population grew by 2.76% per year to a total of 377 million, greater than the entire population of the USA2. The consequences of rapid urbanisation have been overwhelmingly problematic3. Harmful air pollution, urban gridlock, and dangerous public transport systems leading to high death rates are all negative consequences of what should be positive economic growth4.
Large swathes of India’s rail network remain untouched by electrification, relying on old, cramped diesel stock to transport people across the country4. By investing in newer, electric railways with modern trains, India will be able to meet increasing demand on the railways, slow the rate of rural-urban migration through faster railways and easier commutes, tackle rising pollution rates and ease overcrowding in new, emerging cities as well as the established urban cores of India like Delhi and Mumbai4.
Moving from diesel and steam railways to electric ones allows Indian Railways to tackle dangerous air pollution across the urban landscape. Increased car use and slow-moving highways in India have contributed to its unfortunate status as one of the world’s most polluted countries: 15 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India5. Exposure to these pollutants can, over time, lead to increased mortality from lung cancer, heart disease and asthma6. Transport’s relationship with pollution in India cannot be understated: when the COVID-19 pandemic ground India’s public transport systems to a halt, as well as reduced the number of people using cars, a significant decline in air pollution was observed6. Car use is exacerbated by poor quality rail and bus infrastructure, as people are deterred from using public transport due to its unreliability, and sheer dangerousness2. By investing in cleaner rail transport, not only will India be tackling the harmful environmental consequences of the existing, outdated rail infrastructure, but will also be encouraging people off the roads and onto the reliable railways, meaning cleaner air all round7.
Another consequence of India’s rapid urbanisation has been that whilst the urban population has grown, the infrastructure for road and rail transport has not been suitably invested in to meet an increase in demand as might have been expected. The images of crowded trains which have unfortunately become synonymous with Indian railways, like the cover image, are not exaggerations. At present, there is a supply-demand gap for public transport of 240% nationwide8, and investment in the rail infrastructure and new trains will aid overcrowding in public transport. On top of this, providing high-quality and high-frequency rail links across India, in a similar way to the USA or UK, may reduce the demand for rural-urban migration. People may be able to reap the double benefits of urban life, like the aforementioned opportunities for work, schooling and better public services, whilst living in the potentially cheaper suburbs or rural areas with their families.
Overcrowding in cities is not ideal as it puts pressure on services, but India’s issues with overcrowding go beyond this. Road injuries and falls are both major contributors to mortality in India6. Trains in India are known to run at double their capacity, and people often ride on the roofs of trains4. The Times of India report that every hour, two people die on India’s railways9. If public transport is perceived to be unsafe, it is unsurprising that people are pushed towards using their own transport, which often leads to dangerous gridlocks in Indian towns and cities8. Electrifying the railway infrastructure combined with increasing capacity and frequency will go some way to persuading those who are deterred from using the dangerous buses and railways to move towards increased rail use.
With India’s railways being state-run, it is now up to Vaishnaw’s Ministry of Railways (MoR) to consider the many benefits of investing in the rail infrastructure to tackle the clear problems in urban areas in India. This is not to say that efforts thus far by the MoR have gone ignored: the National Rail Plan aims to achieve 100% electrification and increase speeds on major routes, such as Delhi-Howrah / Delhi-Mumbai, by 202410. Whilst these are welcome targets, implementation of them is key and it will be interesting to watch their development over the next few years, particularly when one factors in the potential disruption COVID-19 has caused to these targets11.
India must prepare effectively for an urban explosion. With 68 cities housing over 1 million people each by the end of this decade, investment in its national railways, particularly through electrification, is vital to meet current and future demand and tackle the growing dangers that the unplanned urbanisation in India is causing.
References
1. Florent JmZ (1998) ‘Taking the Train in India’ (via Flickr). Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/unemotoeninde/3299735155 (Reproduced under licence CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) (Accessed 10 June 2022)
2. Bhagat, R. B. (2011) ‘Emerging Pattern of Urbanisation in India’. Economic and Political Weekly, 46(34): 10-12.
3. Venkatasham, V. (2015) ‘The problems and issues in urbanization in India’. Indian Journal of Research: 4(8): 277-278.
4. Pucher, J., Korattyswaroopam, N., Ittyerah, N. (2004) ‘The Crisis of Public Transport in India: Overwhelming Needs, but Limited Resources’. Journal of Public Transportation, 7(4). 1-20.
5. IQAir (2020) ‘World’s Most Polluted Cities (PM2.5)’. Available at: https://www.iqair.com/world-most-polluted-cities (Accessed 1 March 2022)
6. Chatterjee A. (2020). ‘Air pollution in Delhi: Filling the policy gaps’, ORF Occasional Paper 291, Observer Research Foundation.
7. Chauhan, A. (2020) ‘Every hour, two die by falling off train or getting run over’. The Times of India. Available at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/every-hour-two-die-by-falling-off-train-or-getting-run-over-in-india-up-clocks-six-deaths-every-day/articleshow/77896799.cms (Accessed 3rd March 2022)
8. Sharma, R. (2017) ‘Financing Indian Urban Rail through Land Development: Case Studies and Implications for the Accelerated Reduction in Oil Associated with 1.5 °C’. Urban Planning, 3(2): 21-34.
9. Logan, K., Nelson, J., McLellan, B., Hastings, A. (2020) ‘Electric and hydrogen rail: Potential contribution to net zero in the UK’. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 87: 102523.
10. Indian Railways (2022) ‘National Rail Plan 2030’. Available at: https://indianrailways.gov.in/NRP%2015th%20DEC.pdf (Accessed 28 February 2022)
11. India Brand Equity Foundation (2021) ‘Indian Railways Industry Report’. Available at: https://www.ibef.org/industry/indian-railways.aspx (Accessed 1 March 2022)