There appears little awareness of the overwhelming prowess and potential of railway systems of Bric countries. Railways in Brazil, Russia, India and China together command as much as 23% of the global rail network, 64% of passenger traffic in terms of passenger-kilometres and 56% of freight throughput (tonne-kilometres). Three of the Bric railways?Russia, China and India?are world?s largest networks. In addition to sectors such as agriculture, energy, aircraft engineering, outer space and nanotechnologies identified for cooperation among Bric countries, railways promise a unique area of common interest.
In the context of environment, energy and land, use efficiency, a rail renaissance is on the horizon worldwide. Bric railways have a historic opportunity to pool their resources, especially in R&D, for mutual benefit. Chinese Railways (CR) is numero uno among world railways in terms of productivity, technology and expansion; Indian Railways (IR), though at present a laggard, will perforce emerge as a vibrant infrastructure bulwark for the economy; Russian Railways is busy getting into a fast-forward mode to develop comprehensive logistics services; Brazil, too, is rejigging its rail network for higher volumes of freight.
During the past 15 years, a new middle class has sprung up in emerging markets, producing a silent revolution?that of wealth creation and new aspirations. As American sociologist David Riesman explains, its mind works like radar picking up signals from far and near, not like gyroscopic, pivoting on a point. While these developments are sustained and promoted by growing infrastructural wherewithal, to a considerable extent by respective railway systems, rising expectations of industry demand almost an exponential growth of railways? freight carrying capacity, just like the need for fast and comfortable passenger train services.
CR has become the world?s second largest freight railway system (after the US) and is the world?s largest passenger railway system (measured in passenger-km). It has by far the world?s highest traffic density (passenger-km and tonne-km per route km). CR has planned to invest over $200 billion by 2020 to double the length of the system from about 63,000 km to over 1,20,000 km, and to build 16,000 km of dedicated passenger lines for 350-kmph, inter-city services to operate. Concomitantly, CR has assiduously built up a state-of-the-art, cost-effective rail equipment manufacturing industry.
Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Railways was the world?s most intensively operated freight system. Its monolithic organisation gradually fell out of line with the increasingly market-driven Russian economy. Russia has planned an ambitious roadmap for the development of its flagship Trans-Siberian Railway along with a high growth trajectory for its rail network. A new, national passenger company, broadly similar to Amtrak and VIA,is taking over the passenger business. Russian passenger services are the world?s fifth largest (after China, India, the EU and Japan) and are larger than France and Germany combined.
IR is a rapidly growing rail freight and passenger carrier, though slow to evolve. It is the world?s fourth largest railway system (after the US, Russia and China). IR has, in purchasing power parity terms, the lowest passenger fares and highest freight tariffs of major railways. With an ambitious agenda on the anvil for its major revamp and growth, IR is expected to lend important infrastructural support to the economy.
Poor management had combined with trucking competition to drive all of Latin American railways into effective bankruptcy. Brazil began the 1990s with a federal railway (RFFSA), a state railway of Sao Paulo (FEPASA) and two private railways owned by the iron ore mining company CVRD. Beginning in 1995, Brazil initiated the process of concessioning its railway business. Now the avidly pursued Rio-Sao Paulo-Campinas high speed rail passenger corridor project will soon reach the tendering stage.
?The writer is a former MD of Concor