Easy Solutions of Critical Issues
It was indeed a pleasure to hear and then read the Railway Budget this year. For the first time, the Budget meant a roadmap for the whole Nation and in the right Direction. What pleasantly surprised me more was the inclusion of some suggestions that I have been giving over the last few weeks.
Emboldened and encouraged by such sensitive and sensible approach of the Railway Minister I give below the advantages of some of the PPP Projects that Railways may undertake in its journey to Excellence in Operations.
IMPORTANT PROJECTS FOR RAILWAYS UNDER PPP INITIATIVE ANNOUNCED IN BUDGET.
TRACK FENCING
Hardly a month passes by in which a Railway Accident does not shake the complacence with which millions of commuters use the Services of Railways. One of the main options to bring down the deaths in Railway Accidents is to provide Track Fencing and Cover of Railway Land. While this would help in achieving the primary objective of reducing Accidents it would also, additionally, give
- Better protection of railway assets with no encroachments on land allotted to Railways.
- No Inadvertent Death of Humans and Livestock
- Lots of employment generation with regular work for small steel makers in country.
- Reduction in Wagon Breaking Activities
- A first line of defense against the Anti-Social elements engaging in terror activities
SOLAR INSTALLATION ON TRACK FENCING
The Track Fencing can be planned and designed specifically to bear the load of Solar panels on these. This can help in
- Solar Power Generation will get boost as lots of open space available with Railways
- Railways is the largest power consumer in the country today. The additional power generated through these Solar Installations can be used to reduce the dependence on Purchased Power.
- This will also Open opportunities to boost Employment and Entrepreneurship as there will be a demand for Solar Equipment manufacturing within the country as an assured market for such auxiliary plants for next 15 years would be available.
BROADBAND HIGHWAY
Honourable PM has expressed the intent to create a Broad band highway across country with High Speed Internet and other uses for proliferation of technology leveraged applications
- Pairing the work of Optic Fibre Cable laying along with Track Fencing and Solar Installation will reduce the cost of all three projects substantially
- Regular and substantial Income generation for Railways with private partner managing the Operations with Lean and Efficient Six-Sigma standards to address the growing demand for HSI in the country.
- Investment in Optic Fibre Cable laying will benefit Railways in more ways than one 1. own network at much lower cost with high speed. 2. Upgrade of its signalling system to meet the ever increasing need of the ambitious developmental plans that the Railways is planning
TRACK SECURITY
While above 3 projects will bring higher efficiency and safety besides higher revenues the need for tight security an imperative.
- Entire Railway Track , its Fencing and other Assets would need a Complete Secuirty System with latest arms and trained security professionals.
- Sabotage, Terrorism and Public Agitations would be totally eliminated due to the Ever Vigilant, State of Art Security System
- The cost of Security will be distributed among the four users leading to a economical availability of such security. Over a period of time Incidents can be reduced by 80-100%
MECHANISED TRACK MAINTENANCE
Lack of Proper Track Maintenance has been a major cause of Inefficiency and Losses for the Railways besides being a cause of Misery to the Consumers of Railway Services, both, Passenger and Freight. With appropriate Technolgy Upgrade and Mechanization we can ensure
- Best possible equipment for safety and maintenance of Railways to ensure Speed and safety.
- With increased speed, safety and good maintenance maximum utilisation of Railway Rolling Stocks to be done with Assurance of Service Quality
- With speed, ,safety and better utilisation assured increase in profits would ensue for Railways
All these PPP projects can be funded via 26% each of Indian Railways, Private partner,Technology Provider and 24% Public. With a Preferred Debt Equity ratio of 3-1.
Railways being a Trusted Symbol of India’s Development would provide a lot of Confidence to the Investors.
RAILWAYS MUST CONSIDER THESE 5 PPP PROJECTS ON PRIORITY FOR BEST SOLUTIONS
Strategist Nation Building
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PK,
1. Excellent ideas.
2. Functional utilisation of railway land as suggested is workable.
3. Inhabitants along tracks will take time to get used to the assets.
Strict vigilance may be required in the beginning against theft or damage to the assets.
5. Five projects need to be complementary to one another to achieve optimum result.
6. Cost of fencing can be derived from Solar Power which can be sold to railways and broadband provider.
7. Railways will benefit from augmented source of power from Solar farms, better protection due to fencing and its surveillance, better communication through Broad-Band and better maintenance of tracks and allied services.
8. Fencing will also help in implementing Bullet train track projects.
Good suggestions Maheshwari Ji