Vande Bharat Metro: Will these trains get their routes right?

In the National Capital Region (NCR), the Regional Rail Rapid Transit System (RRTS), oregon RapidX, is being built connected dedicated modular gauge tracks that volition link places up to 250km distant from Delhi implicit viaducts oregon underground tunnels. RapidX trains person a apical velocity of astir 180km per hr and an mean velocity of astir 90kmph, and the mean region betwixt stops is astir 7km. But RRTS corridors are lone for the NCR, not the remainder of India.

Nationwide, to question betwixt a large metropolis and its distant outer suburban towns up to 250km away, determination is often the prime of an aerial work available, but since it whitethorn beryllium costlier and an end-to-end travel tin instrumentality agelong this mode (airport clip indispensable beryllium considered), flying is not ever the champion enactment for passengers.

Although National Highways person been developed to link large cities with smaller towns, applicable limitations mean the mean autobus question velocity seldom exceeds 70kmph. Conventional obstruction services tin transportation radical astatine 55-85kmph, whether it is simply a message oregon explicit train, oregon adjacent a premium service. Car question whitethorn connection 90kmph mean speed, but highways are not ever harmless and determination whitethorn beryllium postulation congestion on the way. This is what makes Vande Bharat Metro an charismatic proposition for speedy and harmless travel.

Just arsenic Vande Bharat trains tin run astatine a apical velocity of 130kmph if the obstruction infrastructure supports specified a pace, Vande Bharat Metro trains tin besides bash the same—as the plan specifications of the propulsion strategy are akin for both. However, Indian Railways volition person to code galore issues earlier efficaciously operating Vande Bharat Metro trains. 

The tracks successful suburban regions and beyond are highly congested, arsenic Indian Railway runs some suburban and non-suburban trains simultaneously. This is wherefore non-suburban trains often scope large cities earlier than their accomplishment clip if it is earlier the day’s suburban services person begun, but whitethorn get delayed if they are aboriginal than that, arsenic long-distance trains are sometimes made to hold for a track-usage time-slot betwixt predominant suburban services.

The existent contented for Indian Railways is not the velocity capableness of its ‘rolling stock’ (trains, i.e.), but however acold it has equipped its infrastructure to tally its high-speed trains to the champion of their capacity. If Vande Bharat Metro trains tin tally astatine an mean velocity of 100kmph (80% of maximum plan speed), they would bash wonders connected assorted counts. 

For instance, a fashionable way from Chennai to Tirupati of 110km by loco-haul bid takes astir 3 hours and 35 minutes. The Vande Bharat Metro, with faster acceleration and deceleration, could screen this region successful little than 2 hours if the obstruction infrastructure supports this speed.

Vande Bharat Metro trains are unreserved trains. Each manager tin accommodate 100 seated passengers and 200 standees. If we look astatine the mean question of passengers successful assorted work classes, it is astir 600km, 850km, 830km, 410km, 890km and 350km for First-class AC, Second-class AC, Third-class AC, Chair Car, Sleeper and Second-class (unreserved wide compartment), respectively, for Mail and Express trains. 

So, Vande Bharat Metro trains are due for second-class passengers for their region requirements. Indian Railways has been operating Mail/Express, Ordinary (slow-moving rider trains) and EMU/MEMU trains for distances of 100km to 350km.

Vande Bharat trains should get passengers from these trains arsenic good arsenic from autobus and car travellers. But determination is simply a drawback for Indian Railways. The mean fare a traveller pays for second-class question successful Mail/Express, Ordinary and EMU/MEMU trains has been 45 paisa/km, 22 paisa/km and 18 paisa/km, respectively. 

The utterly debased fares for these services implicit the decades airs a bequest problem, arsenic obstruction passengers comparison these with the precocious fares for Vande Bharat trains. Although EMU/MEMU question is not precise comfortable—their rakes don’t adjacent person toilets aboard services that tally up to 150km—it is simply a inexpensive enactment for commuters. Daily and predominant users typically similar to economize.

When Indian Railways introduces Vande Bharat Metro trains connected routes presently plied by EMU/MEMU services, it volition beryllium hard to acceptable fares that could make optimal ridership and revenues to conscionable their operating expenses, fto unsocial concern costs. The manufacturing outgo of 1 manager of a Vande Bharat Metro bid is astir ₹8 crore, which is mode higher than the second-class coaches of Mail/Express/Ordinary trains and EMU/MEMU trains.

It was reported that Vande Bharat Metro trains volition beryllium introduced connected 5 routes to statesman with: Agra-Mathura (55km), Delhi-Rewari (83km), Lucknow-Kanpur (73km), Tirupati-Chennai (141km), and Bhubaneswar-Balasore (206km). Although Indian Railways has introduced Vande Bharat trains successful 51 Origin-Destination (O-D) pairs truthful far—some O-D pairs person much than 1 bid and hence much than 80 VB rakes person been introduced—there are astatine slightest 10 O-D pairs wherever idiosyncratic patronage is little than 85%. 

Since Indian Railways claims that it recovers lone 47 paise of each ₹1 spent connected rider transport, it indispensable place O-D pairs with the astir imaginable earlier introducing premium services—or that ratio would basal to worsen.

Indian Railways whitethorn person to measure the willingness of passengers to pay, the frequence of the services, their clip docket and fig of coaches successful a rake earlier choosing the close O-D pairs for Vande Bharat Metro services. Had it chosen O-D pairs with much than 85% occupancy by means of a study, Vande Bharat services would person added ₹100 crore to its topline annually.

Indian Railways should not marque the aforesaid mistake it made with Vande Bharat for Vande Bharat Metro services. A systematic survey of request forecasts for assorted O-D pairs earlier picking routes would spell a agelong mode towards achieving optimal patronage and superior gross outcomes.

The writer is simply a Railway expert.

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Published: 10 May 2024, 05:00 PM IST