Overhauling the railways

The regulatory body must usher in systemic change

The Union Cabinet gave its nod last week for the setting up of the Rail Development Authority (RDA), which will function as the regulator for Indian Railways. The RDA is expected to be up and running by August 1, and will be required to give its recommendations to the government across a whole host of policy decisions, especially in fixing tariffs. For a long time now, the railways have been struggling on almost all counts. For passengers, while the fares have not been hiked much, the quality of service has remained shoddy. On the other hand, the cross-subsidisation of passenger