Crawl before you Run

On 23rd July 2011 one high speed train was hit from behind by another in Wenzhou district of South China. Till the time I am writing this on 30th July 2011 death toll has risen to 40 with several others critically injured. This crash involved bullet trains which run at a maximum speed of 150km/hr much slower than the Beijing-Shanghai or Beijing-Tianjin route trains which run at a maximum speed of 300km/hr. This train accident stirred some serious discussion regarding the necessity vs. obsession with high speed mode of commutation. When India is trying to keep pace with its perceived rival’s development blitz, will it be a scrupulous move to embrace the high speed trains? And what India needs learn from the accident, which along with many remorseful feelings leaves many hidden lessons? One more thing which made news in recent time in China was the sacking of its Railway Minister which was indicted on corruption charges. Both the events frame a more meaningful and comprehensive scenario in Indian context.
In recent Railway budget of India government has put proposals for its ambitious project for dedicated freight trains corridor and high speed rails. The move was welcomed with a gung-ho in Indian media and flourishing business class. But when analyzing the situation more minutely one finds this proposal more a desperate move to keep pace with World Class Economy tag than a serious effort to develop the sound infrastructure for future demand. Although India has proved its calibre for developing and successfully running the complicated local metro rail networks for almost 9 years in Delhi Metro Project, its success in maintaining the main railways network has always been under scrutiny. The local metro and long distance high speed trains will surely differ on many fronts, which can pose serious questions not only to the safety of travellers in high speed trains but also to economic interests in operating it.
Almost at the same time when the Railway budget was announced, biggest scam in Indian history was exposed by media and public petitioners. This exposure precipitated the scams revelations one after another and exposed the vulnerability of Indian policies to corruption. Commonwealth scam, food scam, 2G scam, NRHM scam, mining scam are some of the recent reminders of failure of Indian system to keep the massive infrastructure and development projects under constant vigil. In a scenario when Corrupt Leader is more of a certificate of amassing huge wealth than a taboo for a political leader, how it can be guaranteed that crucial project such as High Speed train network development can be implemented with complete sincerity and without compromising the quality of work. Chinese Railway Minister sacking also conveys a strong message for us because when in a country like china where corruption draws very serious implications by law unfair practices were adopted by its authority for siphoning of a part of huge money allotted for rails project, how can we expect a leader in India doing its duty sincerely when he or she knows the ineffectiveness of Indian System in punishing the perpetrators.
There are more important and urgent requirements than building the high speed train links. Traditional rail network needs a massive up gradation regarding its safety as well as capacity. Building a high speed network which will be undoubtedly out of reach of common man will help some specific segment of society but on broader context this segment has other viable options with them for faster mode commutation such as air travel, whereas the traditional mode of rail Commutation is used by almost each and every Indian and its development will boost the travel and tourism industry. Last but not the least government has a lot to do on local public transport and Road transport. Indian cities trying to cater to demand of overwhelmingly increasing urban population are finding it difficult to manage its public transportation system and are choking under the immense pressure. There is no use of high speed rail road network if you cannot travel inside a city. Roads are crumbling under ever increasing vehicle counts. National highways which count 2% of total Indian Road Network accounts for 40% of traffic are under constant need of up gradation. Indian government should first work on these basic issues before going for its dream world project.
Change is always good but how much and when must be measured prudently. When all conditions are strikingly clear and workable government must not ignore these basic requirements in the name of world class development. Crawl before you walk or in this case run.