Modi’s plan to modernise India’s railways: too little, too late (just like the trains)?
- With the state’s monopoly train operator running at a frequent loss, Modi is seeking investment from the likes of Hong Kong’s MTR and Singapore’s SBS to liberalise India’s railways
- Regional transport players are keeping a close watch on the Tejas Express, a new semi-autonomous train service that is seen as a pilot test for Modi’s vision
On October 19, some 450 passengers who bought tickets on the Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express were forced to wait nearly four hours for the train service, which had been launched only two weeks earlier.
The train, run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), left Lucknow at 9.55am instead of its scheduled time of 6.10am, after it was reportedly held up by maintenance work.
The 500km journey back to Lucknow departed at 5.30pm instead of 3.35pm, causing another delay, this time to 500 passengers.
Under the company’s travel insurance policy, Tejas Express passengers would receive refunds of 100 rupees (US$1.40) if a train is late by up to an hour, or 250 rupees for delays of two hours or longer.
The October 19 disruption is expected to cost the IRCTC some 162,000 rupees in compensation.