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How to transform Indian Railways

Indian Railways should immediately corporatise its production units and construction wing, segregate its passenger and freight businesses, and restructure the Railway Board

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Raghu Dayal
The beleaguered Indian Railways (IR) has now appealed for corporate benefactors to step in, to get its trains and stations cleaned, according to recent newspaper reports. Caught in a low incremental growth trap, and continuing to live beyond its means, IR appears to be going the Air India way.

How could the IR management remain oblivious of the gathering storm? Freight output and passenger traffic recorded a dismal 0.26 per cent and 0.53 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the period 2014-19; but its working expenses clocked 5.54 per cent CAGR, far beyond its gross earnings, at just 4.09
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