Govindraj Ethiraj: Comfort matters, speed matters more

DOUBLE EDGE

When launched, India's first superfast train service, the Deccan Queen, left Mumbai's ornate VT station every day at 1710 sharp. It would arrive at its destination, Pune, precisely 2 hours 45 minutes later.

That was in 1930, a little over 75 years ago. The same 192 km journey today takes 3 hours and 15 minutes. There have been occasions when it's been longer. Not surprisingly, many travellers prefer the road. Thanks to the new Mumbai-Pune expressway, you could do the same stretch in 2.5 hours.

It's no secret that the Indian train system has slowed down over the decades. The reasons are well-known and documented. They range from too many trains, increased stops, inadequate track capability, poor signalling systems, unmanned crossings, to an overarching fear that speed can be a killer.

And yet there is competition, for the first time. Low-cost airlines are luring away passengers who traditionally travelled by air-conditioned sleepers. The difference between the low-cost airlines and AC fares on many sectors is often only a few hundred rupees. Throw in a lottery as the new airlines are wont to do and many fliers get by cheaper. The railways offer no such incentive.

The railways are responding to this new competition with more AC trains and services. In their rush to do so, they seem to ignore one critical factor. In a fast-growing, -moving and -learning economy, while comfort is useful, speed is critical. Even not so well-to-do passengers don't want to spend their limited holidays or leisure time as paying guests of the Indian Railways, amid stinking toilets and erratic service. Even for the romance of the railroad.

Why speed? Well, among other things, it's the same reason that carpenters, plumbers, maids, vegetable vendors and auto rickshaw drivers invest in mobile phones. They want to connect, as quickly as possible. And not depend on the venerable Posts & Telegraphs. This is an age where everything, particularly information, is delivered instantly. And the movement of people cannot lag too far behind. The journey cannot be the destination, at least at this point of time.

It's not just trains. Air travellers are also grumbling. What was three to four hours point to point from Bombay to Delhi is now six to seven. Add a few more hours and you might find people headed towards Hazrat Nizamuddin instead of Indira Gandhi International. Frankly, first-class livery cannot substitute for the indeterminate circling most inbound aircraft are condemned to. Particularly, when the journey itself is an hour and a half, or less.

Railway systems the world over have woken up to new opportunities, using old assets, like in-city presence, quick entry and departure, and so on. The Eurostar from London to Paris is a classic example. You can do London's Waterloo to Paris Gare Du Nord in 2 hours 35 minutes at the fastest and 2 hours 50 minutes at the slowest. Under three hours. Imagine if you were to fly instead. You would barely reach the airport and clear check-in.

So, can it be done in India? Obviously not at Eurostar or TGV speeds. But faster services are not an impossibility. Without dreaming of Bullet Train like projects (Mumbai-Ahmedabad). My favourite example is this one. The Rajdhani Express was introduced between Howrah and Delhi in 1969. The train "broke" the 100 km per hour "record" to run at 120 km per hour, covering the 1,441 km distance in 17 hours 20 minutes. The Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani followed in 1972, progressively covering the 1,300 km distance in 17 hours.

Let's forget for a moment that the Rajdhani is running at roughly the same average speed of 60 kmph since then. What if you wanted to travel from Mumbai, the commercial capital, to Bangalore, the IT capital, or for that matter, Chennai? Well, things are a little slower. The distance is a good 300 km less and yet the time taken eight hours more. So, 17 hours from Mumbai to Delhi but 24 hours to Bangalore. Travel to Delhi and you might not lose a working day but Bangalore or Chennai and you will.

So, the same railway system which created a differentiated travel product for the political capital four decades ago is unable to replicate it for other commercial and business capitals elsewhere in the country. Yes, there are the Shatabdis, which run at admirable speeds of 140 kmph up to places like Bhopal. But I am not sure the low-cost airlines are gunning for that sector right now.

A few years ago, I travelled with now retired Konkan Railway Corporation managing director B Rajaram. If there was a man in a hurry, it had to be him. While everyone was talking of hitting 140 kmph, he was testing speeds of up to 160 and 180 kmph. He offered to the country, after successfully testing with a 4000 hp WDP4 General Motors' diesel engine, a Mumbai-to-Goa run in six hours. Make it a scorching four hours if you started from Panvel near Mumbai. And Mumbai-Trivandrum in 12 hours, for returning NRIs. The commercial service should have been launched in end-2003. It didn't, for various reasons, ranging from railway bureaucracy to Konkan Railway's own, troubled, safety record.

Rajaram had a management view on his dream project. He told me that the way to keep an entire organisation motivated and performing was to set higher targets. "The faster you go, the more alert you are. You not only have an objective to look up to but also ensure that you are on your feet working on it." And yes, he would have happy customers as well. Many of whom, including this one, who might return to the railroad.