- How would you sum up (i) the strategy (ii) the culture of Indian Railways in the early years of this century ?
- In what ways can you trace this strategy and culture to the Indian Railway's history ?
ILLUSTRATION 6.1 Indian Railways and Empire The history of an organisation can define culture and strategy. India's first train journey in April 1853 took 75 min- declined from 74 per cent in 1951 to 12 per cent utes to travel 39km on a stretch of rail near Mum- in 2011. Indian Railways' productivity trailed interna- bai. More than a century and a half later, the journey tional peers: traffic units/employee was 0.84 for India, still takes 57 minutes. But the Indian railway system 1.4 for China and 15.1 for the USA. Bribes were nec- has grown enormously since its origins. The network essary for seat reservations. There were 27,000 rail- is 64,000km long, with 21,000 trains carrying about way related deaths in 2014, many involving unguarded 23 million passengers and three million tonnes of crossings and people falling off over-laden trains. freight per day. The problems of Indian Railways were well- The railway system originated under the British recognised. A government report of 2015 noted Empire (the Raj) and its dependent princely states. It with some irony that there had been 21 government gained impetus with the Indian Mutiny of 1857, when inquiries into the railways since 1951: 'On the pos- the British learnt the importance of rail for ferrying itive side, this large number illustrates the impor- troops around their vast domain. The railway's res- tance attached to the railways. On the negative side, taurant wagons still reflect these origins in the British repeated reports highlight the non-implementation of Empire, with 'Anglo-Indian' food such as omelettes, recommendations'. 'cutlets' and baked beans on the menu. Station bag- Nonetheless, the government was determined to gage carriers are known as 'coolies', the derogatory reform the railways. In 2014, the Chairman of the Rail- name for the indentured labourers who served the Raj. way Board declared: 'The need of the hour is to bring Just as colonial officers would travel and stay in railway in a total change in the work culture and delivery of hotels for free, so too do contemporary politicians and railway services by going in for large scale integrated their associates today. computerisation of major functions of Indian Railways'. Soon after independence, the various regional A new accounting system was introduced, which began railway companies were brought together to form the for the first time to record outcomes as well as expendi- state-owned Indian Railways in 1951. Socialist-style tures. Coolies would be given uniforms, trained in soft politics left an enduring mark on the new Indian Rail- skills and renamed as 'sahayaks' ('helpers' in Hindi). ways. Price rises for passengers were extremely rare, Dozens of senior managers were moved out of the Delhi with freight used to subsidise transport for "the com- Bhavan. Deloitte Consulting was brought in to do com- mon man'. Continuing policies that had been started prehensive work studies. Private investors were allowed to support privileged British staff under the Raj, Indian to operate services on Indian Railways track. After 16 Railways developed a vast social system of employee years of price-freezes and years of financial losses, housing, sports stadia, nursing homes and hospitals, small price increases were approved. with 2500 doctors by the second decade of this cen- Sources: Guardian, 30 December 2011; Economic Times, 8 July 2014; tury. Many jobs were passed on almost by family inher- S. Debroy, "Interim Report of the Committee for Mobilization of itance. All was presided over by a Delhi headquarters Resources for Major Railway Projects and Restructuring of Railway (Bhavan) with 140 senior managers. There were 13 Ministry and Railway Board, Indian Government publication, 2015. levels of hierarchy in every department. Bhavan jobs were sold illegally and many senior managers had never Questions worked outside the Delhi headquarters building. It was said that it took approval from ten departments to 1 How would you sum up ()) the strategy (ii) the change the soap in the first-class carriages. culture of Indian Railways in the early years of Although there were pockets of excellence and inno- this century? vation - for example, the Delhi metro - Indian Railways 2 In what ways can you trace this strategy and as a whole stagnated. Its share of passenger traffic culture to the Indian Railways' history
