The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways has raised concerns regarding the slow progress of the Kavach safety system and called for a faster roll-out across the Indian Railway network. Kavach, which is currently deployed on 1,465 route km of South Central Railway and 80 route km on North Central Railway, is vital for enhancing train safety, particularly on high-density corridors. While tenders have been invited for key routes like Delhi-Chennai and Mumbai-Chennai, the committee stressed the need to expedite the project.
The committee’s report, presented in the Lok Sabha on Friday, also highlighted the issue of revenue losses related to catering services. It called on the Ministry of Railways to focus on eliminating these losses by improving food quality and pricing, aiming to offer better services to passengers at competitive rates. It was suggested that the Railway Ministry should simultaneously reduce the Social Service Obligations linked to catering services. A comprehensive review of passenger fares was also recommended by the committee, especially in light of the estimated passenger revenue of Rs 80,000 crore for 2024-25, compared to freight revenue projections of Rs 1,80,000 crore. The committee urged the ministry to rationalize operational expenses for passenger trains to keep ticket prices affordable.
The committee emphasized the importance of modernizing Indian Railways’ infrastructure, which requires substantial capital investment. It recommended increasing private sector participation in infrastructure development and suggested exploring assistance from external agencies. The report also highlighted the need to leverage the vast advertising space and land holdings of Indian Railways to boost revenue. Addressing delays in infrastructure projects, the committee pointed to land acquisition as a key issue. It recommended policy modifications to speed up the land acquisition process and consistent engagement with state governments to ensure timely completion of projects. Despite new policies allowing the Railways to take on cost-sharing stalled works, the committee noted that targets for constructing Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs) were not met in the last three years.
On station redevelopment, the committee urged the Railways to involve private sector participation to reduce reliance on budgetary allocations. The ministry’s focus on developing economic railway corridors under the PM Gati Shakti Mission was commended, with the committee encouraging the ministry to prioritize these projects with clear phases and timelines. Finally, the committee raised concerns about the production capacity of coaches and urged the Railways to take necessary steps to increase production in its units, ensuring the timely availability of coaches for expanding services.