TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS
 

INTRODUCTION

The pattern of the transport system in the country will undergo substantial changes as the various agricultural and industrial programmes included in the Five Year Plan are progressively implemented. For instance, the increasing output of foodgrains within the country and the manufacture of fertilisers at Sindri will imply diminishing movement of these commodities from the ports and at the same time a growing demand for the internal transport requirement. On the other hand, the new cement factory- at Rajgangpur Which commenced production early in 1952 and the expansion of the Andhra Cement Company at Vijayawada will reduce the demand on the transportation system by expanding production in the vicinity of the consuming centres. Generally, however, the cumulative effect of the Plan will be to increase the overall demand for transportation facilities. To cope with the problem, the probable points of increasing demand for transportation facilities should be known in order either to provide the necessary facilities or to relieve the strain on the system by diverting traffic elsewhere.

2. Broadly speaking, the plans for railway and maritime transport, envisaged in this Chapter, have as the primary objective the rehabilitation of assets which has been postponed for a long time due to various factors. Auxiliary facilities for aerial and maritime transport have also been taken into account. The potentialities of rivers for the development of inland water transport are yet not fully appreciated but the establishment of the Ganga Water Transport Board for developing navigation on the river Ganga shows a realisation of a new transport facility.

I. RAILWAYS

3. The Indian railway system is the largest nationalised undertaking in the country. It is one of the few railway systems in the world with a net earning power adequate to meet all fixed charges and provide substantial sums for development and reserves. The principal reason for this is to be found in the high levels of both passengers and goods traffic in recent years and the rationalisation of the structure of rates and fares carried out in 1948.

4. The most serious problem facing the railways today is the task of rehabilitation and provision of adequate equipment. During the last, twenty years, railways' assets have been put to intensive and extensive use with little opportunity for rehabilitation. In the thirties the Indian railways were caught in the world-wide economic depression and their earnings were insufficient even to meet the interest liabilities to general revenues. Maintenance was slowed down or deferred from year to year, while renewals and replacements had to be limited

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462 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN

to the minimum permitted by the requirements of mere safety in operation. The railways were just emerging from the depression in 1937, and were attempting to overtake the arrears of maintenance and replacements, when the second world war intervened in 1939 and interrupted this process.

5. In the first phase of the war, the Indian railways, despite the shortage, had to release wagons, locomotives and track materials for the Middle East. Over 8 per cent of the metre gauge locomotives, 15 per cent of metre gauge wagons, 4,000 miles of track, and 4 million sleepers were released for use overseas and in India on military projects. For this purpose, the railways were obliged to dismantle as many as 26 branch lilies. In the second phase of the war, India became the base for the offensive against Japan and a large number of railway workshops had to be diverted to the manufacture of munitions and other items required for war. In these circumstances, abnormal arrears of renewals and replacements accumulated, and internal facilities for rehabilitation were appreciably curtailed or incapacitated by the mobilisation and intensive utilisation of workshop equipment in connection with the requirements of the war.

6. As soon as the hostilities ended, new problems came up in the wake of Partition. The division of the North Western Railway deprived the Indian portion of the majority of workshops and maintenance and repair facilities. Similarly the division of the Bengal Assam Railway left the Assam Railway without any workshop or a link with rest of the railway system. The loss of the port of Karachi led to the diversion of traffic to Bombay causing a great deal of congestion and creating a transport bottleneck in the Bombay Port. This necessitated the development of a major port at Kandla and the construction of the Kandla-Deesa rail link.

7. Thus, the problem of rehabilitation and replacement created by the post-1930 economic depression, neglected by the conditions of the war years, and accentuated by the special features of Partition has become the major concern of the railways.

Magnitude of the Rehabilitation Programme

8. The magnitude of the problem of rehabilitation may be judged from the abnormal proportion of the overaged stock. From detailed figures summarised below it will be observed that the arrears of renewals already accumulated by March 31, 1951, amounted to 1,050 locomotives, 5,514 coaching vehicles, and 21,418 wagons, against the normal figures of average annual renewals of 190 locomotives, 650 coaching vehicles and 5,000 wagons. For an overall picture of the position during 1951-56, it is necessary to add to these figures the numbers which will become overaged. during this period. The total stock which will have reached the normal age for replacement by March 31, 1956, is, therefore, 2,092 locomotives, 8,535 coaches and 47,533 wagons.

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Rolling Stock Requirements for Renewals 1951-56

        
                                                Loco-     Coaching   Goods
                                                motives   vehicles   wagons
        
        Number on line on Class I               8,209     19,193    199,094
        railways on March 31, 1952.......
        
        Estimated average annual renewals...      190        650      5,000
        
        Number requiring replacement on    
        March 31, 1952,  being over 40  
        years of economic life in the case
        of locomotives and wagons and 
        30 years in the case of coaching
        vehicles...................... .....     1,050      5,514    21,418 
        
        Stock overaged and replaced but 
        retained in service on March 
        31, 1951............................     1,604      1,381    25,838
        
        Number expected to become overage
        between March 31, 1951 and March 
        31, 1956............................     1,042      3,021    26,115
        
                                          

9. What has been stated in the previous paragraphs refers only to the mobile equipment. The state of the immobile equipment has been a subject of no less concern. The condition of the track his also deteriorated during the last two decades, daring which renewals were Carried out only to the minimum extent required for safety in opera- tion, leaving considerable rehabilitation of the track for completion in future. Speed restrictions have had to be continued on hundreds of miles of main lines as track renewals could not be carried out. The primary task of the railways is, thus, to overtake this heavy accu- mulation of arrears at as early a date as possible.

Demands on the Railway System

10. The importance and urgency of rehabilitation has to be considered from yet another point of view. The capacity of railways to handle traffic, adversely affected by the factors just referred to,was strained even further by the unprecedented increase in the volume of traffic. The remarkable increase in the demand for rail transportation in recent years is borne out especially by the statistics of passenger traffic. The passenger miles on Class I railways increased from 17,780 millions in 1938-39 to 39, 720 millions in 1950-51. During the same period, the freight carried increased from 21,786 million ton miles to 26,581 minion ton miles. It has been possible to move increased traffic of these dimensions only by resorting to measures which would not be approved under normal conditions. Shortage of power and rolling stock has been sought to be met by retaining in service overaged and even replaced equipment which would normally have been scrapped. The replaced stock retained in service amounted on March 31, 1951 to 1,604 locomotives, 1,381 coaching vehicles, and 25,838 wagons. Until additions are obtained, this level of replaced stock in service will have to be maintained. Overcrowding in passenger trains has had to be allowed to continue to cope with the vastly increased traffic. As regards goods traffic, operation of goods specials, increased loading, sacrificing speeds, and other expedients have been resorted to in order to move the traffic. If the problem had been only a temporary phenomenon, these steps might have served the purpose and might have been discontinued when the needs disappeared. But it has have now become necessary

464 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN

to provide as a permanent measures for a definite increase in the levels of traffic. The figures quoted above relating to goods traffic refer only to the tonnage actually moved by the railways and not what they could have moved if the capacity and power were available. Passenger traffic has possibly reached the peak for the time being, but an increase of 10 per cent over the present levels of freight traffic is anticipated by the end of the period of the Plan.

11. The rehabilitation programme of the railways has thus to take into account the two separate problems of deteriorated assets and the needs of the increased traffic.

Future Programme

12. Before proceeding to consider the future programme, it is necessary to refer briefly to what has been achieved during the four years following Partition. The locomotives and rolling stock placed on the line during 1946-47 to 1950-51 are shown in the following table. It will be seen that the effort during the post-Partition period has fallen short of the needs of the situation :

        
                     New Rolling Stock Placed on the Line (Units)
        
        
                                 1946-47  1947-48  1948-49  1949-50  1950-51
        
        
        
        Locomotives                  518       28      104      412     293
        
        Coaching vehicles            120      156      238      337     479
        
        Goods wagons              14,580    5,424    2,522    1,443   3,106
        
                                          

13. Apart from the question of finance required for the procure- ment of rolling stock there is also the question of manufacturing capacity both in this country and abroad. Shortages in steel and other essential materials and priorities of national requirements render the supply position in other countries often extremely diffi- cult. Domestic manufacturing capacity is limited and will have to be increased considerably if the shortages are to be made good by it within the next few years.

Manufacture and Import of Railway Equipment

14. With a view to eliminating dependence on external sources of supply, the Central Government have set up a workshop for the con- struction of locomotives at Chitranjan at an estimated cost of about Rs. 15 crores. The eventual production target for these works is 120 locomotives and 50 spare boilers per annum, but during the initial stages, i.e., period of the Plan, it is expected that 268 locomotives will be manufactured. The Government have also extended financial assistance to the Tata Locomotive Engineering Company by participating in its capital structure to the extent of Rs. 2 crores. About 170 locomotives are expected to be supplied by this firm during the period of the Plan.

15. The position regarding coaching stock has already been explained. Improvement in affording substantial relief to overcrowd- ing and eventually eliminating overcrowding is dependent on obtaining sufficient coaches. livery effort is being made to utilise fully the

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internal resources, but domestic capacity is limited. In 1948-49 the indigenous production of coaching vehicles was only 238; in 1949-50, 337; and in 1950-51, 479. The estimated output of indigenous production during the period of the Plan is 4,380.

16. To supplement indigenous production, the Central Government have taken in hand the establishment of a coach building factory at Perambur at a cost of Rs. 4 crores with an annual single-shift Produc- tion capacity of 300 to 35o all-steel integral type coaches.

17. Domestic capacity for production of wagons is only slightly better in comparison. The 1948-49 indigenous production came to 2,520 wagons; in 1949-50, 1,095 wagons; and in 1950-51, 2,924 wagons. The estimate of indigenous production during the period of the Plan is 30,000 wagons.

18. It will thus be seen that the output from indigenous sources for the manufacture of railway coaches and wagons falls substantially short of the present requirements for rehabilitating railways. In order to make good the deficiencies, imports will be necessary.

19. The import programme of the railways during the period of the Plan includes 600 locomotives, 1,294 coaching vehicles and 19,143 goods wagons within the funds likely to be available. The actual requirement of new locomotives from abroad, in view of the low capaci- ty of internal production, is considerably more than the figure shown here. The programme also includes requirements of spare boilers, cranes and marine stock at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.7 crores per annum.

Rehabilitation of Track

20. The deteriorated condition of the track has already been referred to. The magnitude of the problem will be evident from the fact that at present speeds have been restricted over about 3,000 miles of track on account of its weak condition. It is proposed to deal with 400 to 500 miles of track every year, and it is hoped that the restrictions on the main trunk routes will be removed within the period of the Plan.

21. As far as track renewals are concerned, the maximum use is at present made of the indigenous capacity for the production of track materials, and it is not proposed to import any rails or sleepers from abroad. During 1949-50, Class I railways purchased 2.3 million wooden sleepers at a cost of Rs. 3.90 crores. In addition, over 800,000 cast iron and over 600,000 steel sleepers were also purchased. It is anticipated that the purchase during the period of the Plan will be of the same order. In view of short supplies and rising prices, it is necessary to effect economies in the use of timber. The possibility of using half round sleepers for some metre and narrow gauge lines is being examined. Further, treatment of timber to prolong the life of sleepers should be adopted more extensively. The Railway Plan pro- vides for the creation of two new depots for creosoting of timber at Clutterbuckganj and Coimbatore in addition to those already in exist- ence at Dhilwan in the Punjab and Narkatia in Assam.

466 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN

22. While rehabilitation is indeed the primary task, there are also problems arising from the obligations of the railway system as a public utility concern. The urgent problem of removing overcrowding needs no reiteration. In view of the enormous increase in the volume of passenger traffic, perceptible relief to overcrowding can come only with more coaching stock becoming available and permitting the opera- tion of more passenger services.

Railway Development Under the Five Year Plan

23. For many years there has been considerable demand for improved amenities at railway stations as well as in trains. The inconveniences and difficulties of passengers travelling by the third class have been ventilated in Parliament and outside. Measures for improving the comforts and conveniences in travel, particularly in the lower classes, are now actively in hand. In accordance with this policy, a bulk provision of Rs. 3 crores is being made each year for passenger amenity schemes.

24. There is also the problem of coping with the increase in goods traffic. The volume of goods traffic has been steadily in- creasing from year to year, reflecting the effects of the progressive industrialisation of the country and the development of major projects. A significant example of the effect on rail transport of a new project is afforded by the Sindri fertiliser factory for which the railways have daily to move over a thousand tons of gypsum, a full train load, from the quarries in Bikaner to the site of the factory in Bihar. The distribution of the finished product throughout the coun- try also calls for additional transportation. The opening of the Kandla port during the period of the Plan affords yet another in- stance. The linking up of that port with the hinterland will mean greater movement of transport from the new areas which await consider- able development. Production has been on the increase in the many fields of industry, such as coal, sugar and jute and in accessory raw materials required by these and other industries. AR these represents a substantial increase in transportation required for the haulage of raw materials to the factory sites and of the manufactured products to the centres of consumption or ports for export. The execution of other major development projects will similarly impose heavy addition- al demands on the transport system. The assessment of what the impact of development programmes would be on the transport economy of the country in general, and the railways in particular, is a continuous one and this aspect should receive close attention.

Financing the Railway Plan

25. In order to overtake the accumulated arrears of maintenance and rehabilitation and to provide for an immediate programme of devel- opment for meeting the minimum obligations of the railways as a public utility concern, it is considered that the Railway Plan for the five year period should provide for an average expenditure of not less than Rs. 80 crores a year or Rs. 400 crores in the aggregate. The bulk of the proposed allotment of Rs. 80 crores a year will be taken up by rehabilitation. This will enable the railways to handle more effi- ciently passenger and goods traffic at around present levels. The provision in the Plan for new lines is

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about Rs. 20 crores. The increase in industrial activity in the country as a result of the Plan will make increasing demands on the railway system. In the case of certain expansion schemes, such as for iron and steel or for mineral development, the expenditure needed for providing the necessary railway facilities will have to be treated as part of the expenditure on the project concerned. It is not possible at this stage to estimate precisely the requirements of the railways in respect of all the additional demands that might be made on them but it is intended that out of the lumpsum provision of Rs. 50 crores in the Plan for further expansion of basic industries and transport, the railways will get the necessary allocation.