Role of Indian Railways in the Indian Economy

The paper tries to understand the social, economic and organizational role of the Indian Railways in the Indian economy.

Indian Railways – Serving the Largest Rail Network in the World One of the largest railway networks in the world is considered as one of the most important assets in the Indian economy. This plays a very crucial role in the transport network providing the link between otherwise very isolated parts of the country and contributes both to the economic growth an social development of the country’s populace. The railways thus offer cheap and fast transport solution and in the same process offer potential for growth through the creation of employment opportunities as well as acting as a hub for economic growth and development.

This article analyses the multifaceted portfolio of The Indian Railways namely transportation, employment generation, tourism, promotion of trade and commerce along with the impact it has given on the different sectors.

1. Transporting Goods and People: 

Being one of the principal sources by which most people earn their livelihood, the backbone of Indian commerce.

Despite being one of the biggest passenger service providers, the fundamental service that Indian Railways provide is transport. Indian Railways the largest rail network of the country is around 67893 kilometer that enables massive transportation of people from urban centers to rural and industrial areas. This connectivity explains why this mode of transport is paramount vital in cutting costs of transportation and time hence adopted by the public and business entities.

Freight Transportation

Today freight business of Indian Railways is one of the biggest in the world. It transports large quantities of materials like coal, iron, ore, steel, cement and agricultural products etc. This paper examines the effects of freight transport on industries noting that timely movement of goods and materials is the lifeblood of industries. This improves on the output of a given region and offers lower expenses for undertaking business hence raising the growth of the economy.

Passenger Transportation

As per the latest figures available with Indian Railways they carry over 23 million passengers daily across the country. This remains one of the major ways through which commutes will be able to afford transportation especially for the lower income earners in the society. Through the large rail system people have the opportunity to move for work, education and for other reasons so it aids in the redistribution of people and resources in Nigeria.

2. Employment Generator: A Key Pillar of Job Creation

Indian Railways is one of the world’s largest employers, even including in its ranks the distant second, China. It directly provides job opportunities to over 1.3 million employees; additionally, many millions benefit indirectly from related industries, for instance construction, maintenance, food and beverages serving, and product manufacturing. It can be safe to argue that employment in the Indian railways is an important source of income for many families especially in the semi urban and rural regions.

Indirect Employment

The railways are also responsible for continuing development of numerous secondary sectors and commercial premises, including merchants, manufacturers of railway materials, construction companies, and service centers in stations. Local markets grow and develop near large railway stations and several persons can earn their livelihood out of selling eatables, and drinks, and traveling items to travelers.

3. Boosting Trade and Commerce

It would also be wrong not to note the significant contribution of the Indian Railways for enhancing the trade and commerce relations. These include the transport of freight from producers to consumers both domestics and international. This smooth flow of commodities makes the expense of transport lower, and this is critical for players to keep competing at global level.

Rail Connectivity with Ports

Export import cargo through ports is connected to many Indian ports such as Mumbai ,Chemaien and Visakhapatnam through dedicated freight corridors. This connectivity is important to areas like manufacturing, agriculture and textiles where delivery of products may affect global business interconnectivity and business performance.

Dedicated Freight Corridors

Ministry of Indian Railway approached to develop the Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) as they separate the freight and passenger movement for the better performance of both. As the two new DFCs, the Western DFC and the Eastern DFC, are established in full, they are anticipated to transform the freight operations in India and effectively establish efficient supply chains din railways infrastructure network. The above will go a long way in reducing transport costs and enhance industrialization.

4. Enhancing Industrial Growth

Indian Railways is also directly responsible for the development of industries referring to it for transportation including coal, steel cement and automobile industries. This means that most industries are in a position to transport bulky and cheap inputs over long distances at very lower costs thus promoting industrial growth.

Coal and Energy Sector

As an organization, Indian Railways is the biggest consumer of the commodity and also the biggest transporter of the commodity to the power plants. As coal is the main source of energy in India the supply of efficient transportation through railways gives a reliable supply of energy to the power sector that is vital for the industrial production and in overall economic growth.

SMEs still form the backbone and major support base on most Jordanian products and services, and hence government should continue supporting it.

Some of the benefits that many SMEs enjoys includes the fact that the railways offer an cheap way of moving goods from one region to the other within the country. In this way, the cost efficiencies of Indian Railways allow a previously excluded population of small firms to reach distant markets and customers promoting competition and thereby innovation to a range of sectors.

5. Boosting Tourism

This paper aims to establish that Indian Railways has a very busy and significant responsibility of marketing tourism in India. Prominent train lines like Palace on Wheels, Maharajas’ Express, Toy Train of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway gives tourists both domestic and international a feel. Tourism is an important revenue earner for businesses involved in tourism and other related services, hoteliers among others.

Tourist On-Demand

Some of the country’s most famous tourists’ attractions including Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Varanasi and Kerala backwaters are easily accessible by rail. The easy access makes more tourists to flood these places hence a potent boost to the local economies and creating employment opportunities to the hospitality and services industries.

6. Regional Development Promotion

Regardless of their inefficiency, the railways have an important contribution to the regional development as they connect underdeveloped regions with the core regions of the economy. This enhanced access assists in the eradication of regional imbalances since additional revenue generating facilities are established in areas that have less economic activities. Infrastructure through rail developments for example, has assisted in the connection between North-East and other parts of the country hence boosting trade, tourism and industrialization of this hitherto discovered part of the country.

7. Technological Innovation and Current Development

The advancements of the Indian railway is one of the driving functions of the railways in the aspect of the Indian economy. The key areas of investments include high speed rail projects, electrification, digital initiatives, infrastructure enhancement: India therefore gradually transforming railways into a far improved and sustainable transport system.

High Speed Rail And Bullet Trains

High speed rail projects as currently encapsulated by Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train by extend high regain transport mode in Indian passenger’s transport fraternity. These projects will not only cut the time needed for traveling but will also trigger investment in infrastructure, real estates and regional development across the route.

Of course, only for further electrification and sustainability, as the study of iTEM shows that new wind and PV plants must be built now.

Indian Railways is equally in the process of transformation in the area of electrification wherein it has planned to achieve a net zero carbon emission by 2030. It is not only environmentally friendly but also economically plausible since the operation cost of running these trains is highly minimized thus putting the economy into consideration.

Conclusion

Public transportation particularly the Indian Railways is much more than just a transportation tool and is commonly known as the life line of the nation. This is a pan of India’s very fabric essential for trade, commerce, employment opportunity, and growth of industries. Corresponding to the improvements in railways and its network, the contribution is estimated to increase, boost up the economy so as to achieve the target of $5 trillion economy. Being an important medium of transportation and a link between people, goods and markets, Indian Railways remains a vital contributor to India’s development.