India's railways to get $9bn upgrade

Trains transport 18 million a day

India's vast railway network is to get a $9 billion upgrade this financial year in a bid by the Indian government to appease customers, invest the country's recent fortunes and to improve a woeful safety record that sees hundreds of people killed every year.

In a country where the railways are literally the lifeblood of India, transporting 18 million people to work a day, it is an overdue investment, especially when the transport links are considered so important that they get their own financial investment.

Last year, it was announced that the entire railway system would be ''restructured" at a cost of $56 billion, but this initial $9 billion will be used to modernise and expand the system.

The money will come from earnings from train traffic, fund-raising and support from the government.

Key part in the economy

It is impossible to underestimate how important the railways are to India's economy - there are five billion passengers journeys per year, it is the largest employer in India with over 1.39 million employees and its price rates can often affect inflation.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said passenger fares would remain the same despite the planned increased investment and has announced the launch of 54 new trains to increase the railways' gross traffic receipts.

With the money, many of India's 7000 stations could be developed. Many are in disrepair, such as New Delhi Station that is used by more than 350,000 people a day. Leaking pipes, overcrowded platforms are a common sight and because of the chaos, accidents are frequent. However, modernisation works were announced last year with the aim of making tracks wider, so as to enable faster train and passenger flow.

Up-grades will also improve the amount of freight moved around the country. Ms. Banerjee has said that the railways will likely ferry 890 million tons of goods in the current fiscal year, exceeding the target by eight million tons, but by next years it is hoped 944 million tons we will transported.

"Our objective is inclusive growth," Ms. Banerjee said in her budget speech for the financial year. "If we cannot include all in the ambit of our growth process, then growth will remain just a statistical expression."

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Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

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