Railway reforms
Apropos of the column “Railways must go beyond symbolism” (December 23), there are very little chances of a complete privatisation of the railways, say, in the lines of what it is like in the US. One of the reasons is even today, the railways serve as a carrier for the masses. Until real income growth happens in India for the economically-weak and low-income groups, any move to privatise it will be disastrous. Another reason is that many power centres have been created in the railways management under the present structure. These interests are hardly going to allow their power to be scaled back or even completely taken away. This kind of bureaucratic inertia is almost a given these days.
Apart from these, a crucial reason is that for private players to run the vast Indian railway network profitably is near-nigh difficult. Linking small towns and far-flung remote areas with low traffic volumes is not going to be remunerative for the private players. At the same time, there is little hope that goods freight could become profitable given how road transport is replacing it, albeit inefficiently. There is no doubt that these inefficiencies can soon be remedied—with the cost of oil falling, road transport has also gotten competitive.
Sumona Pal
Kolkata
Pointless studies
Apropos of your edit “Going Mobile”, is it not self-evident that businesses will have to rely on mobile technology in EMEs? So, what really is the point of the study cited in your edit? Such studies seem like they are commissioned in dubious earnest.
Prahlad Bhasin, Mumba
