The need for speed

The Japanese Shinkansen Bullet Train (Photo by Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash)

India is the second largest nation in the world in terms of population (1.34 Billion people) and the seventh largest in terms of surface area (3,287,263 sq. kms). Having a rail network which connects all corners of such a vast country and transports such a huge number of people is a daunting challenge indeed. But there, I feel the Indian Railways is doing no mean job.

From a very modest beginning in 1853, the India's Rail network has grown to become Asia's largest and the world's 4th largest railway network at present. It has a coverage of more than 68,000 kilometers and is the largest employer of the nation (employing approximately 1.4 million people). There are a huge number of achievements and unique facts which the Indian Railways has to it's credit. But there is one single glaring fact.

There is no Ultra High Speed Train network operating in India.

Given the extent of the network and the huge distances involved, a High Speed Rail (HSR) network should have definitely been in consideration. Surprisingly though, despite the tremendous growth in the Railway network in all these years, a HSR network was never considered and implemented. While other countries such as France, Germany, Spain, UK, America, Japan and China boast of trains which can touch speeds of up to Six Hundred Kilometres per hour, India sadly lags behind.

The introduction of trains such as the Vande Bharat Express trains and the Gatimaan Express do show some intent and purpose on the government's part. But they can be classified as Semi-High speed trains at best. They are nowhere in the league of the Japanese Shinkansen , the EuroStar or the French TGV.

The Vande Bharat Express

The Gatimaan Express

But all that is about to change.

In some years, India will have her own High Speed Bullet Train Service. And this is good news. After many years of speculations and false promises, the Bullet Train in India will finally see the light of the day. The Indian government is working with the Government of Japan to install a High Speed Rail (HSR) Network corridor in the crowded Ahmedabad - Mumbai route. Japanese built Shinkansen bullet trains will ply on the HSR lines at speeds of 300-400 km/hr covering the 500 km+ distance between both cities in just around an hour and a half (or two hours at the max)! This is a huge improvement, considering that the fastest train on this route completes the journey in seven hours.

Depending on the success of this project, the Government will install other HSR corridors on other important major train routes in the country.

The story behind the change

There is an interesting story behind the advent of HSR in India.

In the early nineties, when India had opened the gates of her economy for foreign investment (Economic Liberalization), a trade delegation from Japan visited the country to scout for suitable investment opportunities. After the meetings and discussions concluded, the delegation had a strange request. They wanted to experience India via train. So, being good hosts the Indians arranged for a train trip from Mumbai to Pune on the prestigious Deccan Queen.

The journey took a good part of three hours. After reaching Pune, one member from the delegation was curious to know the distance between both cities.

"Around a hundred and twenty kilometers." replied the host.

The visitor was aghast.

"Just a hundred and twenty kilometers?!! And the journey took around three hours?" he exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes" said the host, astonished at his guests' passionate outburst.

"In Japan, we would have covered this distance in half an hour at the max." he continued.

The Indian Railways Network (Image courtesy: Reddit.com)

The Advantages

Time Saving

The advent of HSR will being about a radical change in the transport system of the country. For one thing, huge distances will become just mere numbers as the travel time between distant cities reduces drastically.

For example, consider the Rajdhani Express, India's third fastest train and the fastest train in the ultra crowded Mumbai-New Delhi rail corridor. This train covers the distance of 1384 kilometers between Mumbai and New Delhi in an average time of Fifteen Hours and Forty two minutes. Imagine if via HSR, the travel time between both cities is reduced to a mere three hours? Imagine what a boost that would be.

Time saving and speedy travel is just the tip of the iceberg. There are other tangible and intangible benefits which can be had due to HSR.

Demographic IMPACT

Consider this hypothetical scenario:

Mr.X is a Software Engineer who is a native of Mysore city. Due to a paucity of local job opportunities and greater opportunities in nearby Bangalore, he lands himself a job in Bangalore city. Now, the distance between Bangalore and Mysore is around a hundred and twenty kilometers. Any train journey between both cities takes around three hours making daily commuting impossible(You don't want to spend 6 hours of your life daily in a train!) . Therefore, he is forced to relocate to Bangalore where the rents are sky high and there are other woes like a high cost of living, traffic snarls, pollution etc.

Mr. X's tale is similar to the tale of many people of our country who are forced to relocate to big cities for work opportunities. This forced mass migration leads to immense pressure on the civic authorities of big cities and is a huge strain on the city's resources. The greater the number of people, the more the pollution, crime rate, cost of living and other woes.

But what is the situation was reversed? What if there was a High Speed Train between Mysore and Bangalore which reduces the time taken to just half an hour ? Now Mr.X can happily wake up in the morning in Mysore, freshen up, have breakfast and take the morning bullet train to Bangalore. The time saved in traveling means that he can start and complete work early. In the evening he boards the homeward bound High Speed train, and reaches in time for steaming fresh and hot dinner. He can sleep easy and wake up fresh the next day to continue the same routine.

He no longer has to be at the mercy of greedy landlords who charge exorbitant amount towards rent and maintenance. He no longer has to ensure the daily traffic snarls and the pollution which take such a huge toll on health.

Speedy movement of men and materials

During emergencies, HSR can be optimized to move men and materials speedily within all corners of the country. For example, in the recent Covid crisis, there was a steep demand for liquid oxygen in hospitals across the nation, for patients in critical condition. However, there was a considerable amount of delay expended in transporting it, since the production centers were far away from the cities and there were a shortage of tankers. This led to the oxygen crisis.

This crisis could have been averted if there were readily available HSR units modified to speedily transport the Oxygen across the country.

Also consider that if there is a national emergency which requires speedy transport of troops, weapons and armor across the country. Here, once again HSR can play a pivotal role.

The government should definitely consider these options for customizing HSR.

Increased employment opportunities

The advent of HSR has the potential to create a wealth of job opportunities for skilled as well as unskilled personnel. As HSR gains more popularity and the network expands, the number of employment opportunities will also increase manifold.

HSR might turn out to be one of the most lucrative as well as rewarding career opportunities in the coming future.

The Challenges

There are two sides to every coin. HSR, for all it's advantages has it's fair share of challenges as well.

Implementing a HSR railway network is not child's play, especially in a country as vast and complex as India. Along with it's numerous benefits will come equally daunting challenges.

Safety

Safety will be one of the top most concerns and priority of the HSR network. Current mainline railway lines in India are plagued with safety issues such as stray animal hits, illegal crossings, pilfering of railway property etc. These will turn out to be a big headache for the HSR train as well. To counter this, the Government is considering building most of the track on elevated construction. But the cost of building and maintaining such a track will be very high.

This network will also attract the unwanted attention of terrorists and other anti social elements who will want to cause harm. Utmost precautions should be taken to avoid these kind of unsavory incidents.

Preventive maintenance and monitoring will turn out to be a critical but costly affair.

Ticket Pricing / ROI

Ticket pricing is one of the major challenges of the HSR network implementation. In fact, it could make all the difference between the success and failure of the scheme.

From the customer's POV, the pricing should be low enough so as to make travel via HSR economical and not burn a hole in the customer's pocket. Having astronomical sums for ticket prices is going to be a major turn off for potential passengers.

But at the same time, pricing should be competitive enough to ensure a decent and quick return on investment and profit booking. Delayed ROI could spell a jeopardy for the project.

Too high and the customer will back off. Too low and the stakeholders will withdraw.

The HSR management will have to play a mighty fine balancing act on the pricing for the project to have any real impact.

Connectivity

The true worth of HSR will be realized when small towns will also be integrated into the HSR network. As mentioned in the example of Mr. X in Mysore above, connecting smaller towns to bigger cities has it's own share of advantages.

The real challenge for the Railways would be to find out such routes and establish networks among them.

Opposition

Not everyone will be happy with the introduction of HSR. The thriving Indian domestic airline industry will surely take a hit. If the tickets are priced competitively enough then people will prefer HSR above air travel. HSR will eat into the market share of private airlines. These airline companies will be forced to compete by making prices more competitive and attractive to passengers. Even then, it will be a tough ride. Bigger companies will have to go for extended financing and resort to lay offs and all. Smaller Airline companies will have to shut shop altogether.

Also in the not-happy-with-HSR list will be the big builders and landlords whose mega projects in big cities will lose their sheen. Speedy travel between places will ensure that fewer people migrate to bigger cities or go there only on a need-to-go basis. This will put a dent on the income of Builders, Real Estate Agents and Brokers who are making nice cushy dough by charging hapless people with exorbitant amounts in the form of rents, purchase amounts and brokerage.

These people might make every effort to see that HSR does not materialize.

Conclusion

Whatever the pitfalls and challenges that lie ahead, I feel HSR is inevitable. Life is all about change. And change is inevitable. What's in vogue today will become history tomorrow. Cellular network made the traditional telephone obsolete and changed the way we communicate with each other. Smartphones came and made the old mobile models obsolete. The Railways came and made the stagecoach obsolete. The advent of HSR is radically going to change the way we commute between cities. It is a step in the right direction.