Indian Railway Advantages

The year is 2030. Indian Railways, once known for its tragically painful journeys and cumbersome booking, is all set to flag off its network of newly developed rapid trains. The high speed trains are bound to connect the country’s 4 major metropolitan cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The newspaper, reaching our door early morning reads: “Railway Minister gives Green Signal to High Speed Network as Passengers Rejoice”.
Famous English musician, John Lennon wrote in 1971 while describing a utopian world: “You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one.” His words ring true as we sit and lament the tragic state of Indian Railways in 2014; dreaming for a day when travelling by rail would be swift as the wind. The incumbent government,

There is no gainsaying the positive relationship between economic growth of small towns and their proximity to railways. Towns connected with railways prosper economically as opportunities become easily available. An efficiently connected town will be visited by a large number of people and is likely to benefit from tourism. The new swanky stations providing multifarious facilities would also help in generating revenue. A high-speed railway network that is financially independent and capable of generating its own revenue without having to depend on government-borrowings would give our GDP a much needed fillip.
2. Growth in Tourism
The tourism industry is likely to benefit the most out of high-speed rails in India. Tourists won’t have a harrowing experience in flocking to their favourite destinations. New tourist spots, close to railway stations, would also spring up. With the duration reduced to a fraction of the travel time required earlier, an integrated India with all its states held close together would emerge.
3. Environment

PPP initiative, though offered as a solution, would require developing the existing limping Indian Railways to attract private investments; pushing the project a great number of years. Corruption coupled with red-tapism has previously stalled efforts in the growth of the PPP model in India. It would thus require dedicated political will to push the project through.
The economic benefits arising out of high-speed railways are often seen to be exaggerated. They ignore its economic viability by failing to account for the high costs of tickets of such trains. Justifying costs of a huge venture—the size of the railway network— would require imposing high costs on travel. This would entail bringing down ridership as passengers would resort to cheaper modes of transport (air and road). Indian railways would thus be required to keep the costs low while also competing with the costs of other modes of