In the photo: L-R: Subhash Goyal, Chairman, National Travel, Tourism & Aviation Committee ICC & Chairman, STIC Travel Group of Companies; Dr Surendra Kumar Ahirwar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI; Abhyuday Jindal, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce; Prof (Dr) Manoj Choudhary, Vice Chancellor, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University under the Ministry of Railways), GoI; Vikash Lohia, Chairman, National Railway Committee ICC & Director, Jupiter Wagons; Kanishka Sethia , Chairman National Logistics & Supply Chain Committee, ICC & CEO, Western Carriers (I) Ltd; Kuntal Dasgupta, Chief Business Officer, Texmaco Rail & Engineering Limited; and Rajat Gosain, GGM Planning, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC)

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) hosted the 2nd Rail India Forum titled Railways in Motion: Vision 2030 to Viksit Bharat 2047 in New Delhi. The Vice Chancellor, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University under the Ministry of Railways), Government of India (GoI), Prof (Dr) Manoj Choudhary graced the occasion as the chief guest. The forum brought together prominent policymakers, industry leaders, and technology experts such as the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI, Dr Surendra Kumar Ahirwar; President of ICC and MD of Jindal Stainless, Abhyuday Jindal; Chairman, National Railway Committee ICC & Director, Jupiter Wagons, Vikash Lohia, and several other key stakeholders who shared their perspectives on building a modern, sustainable, and efficient railway ecosystem.

While delivering the welcome address,  Abhyuday Jindal, President, ICC and MD, Jindal Stainless, said, “I am happy to learn that today, the Indian Railways generates a revenue of Rs 2.56 trillion, as of FY24. It manages the world’s fourth-largest railway network with over 132,000 kilometres of track and employs 1.2 million people, making it India’s second-largest employer. As India accelerates towards becoming a USD 40 trillion economy by 2047, the manufacturing industry, trade, and transportation of essential materials are slated to grow exponentially. More industrial zones will be established, and new manufacturing sites will need to be linked. Additionally, the government’s push to increase the share of rail transport in freight movement will support this effort.”

Speaking on current trends and future outlook of the railway industry, Prof (Dr) Manoj Choudhary, Vice Chancellor, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, GoI,  said, “Railways’ modernisation shall not merely happen only because of what we are going to lay down, in terms of physical infrastructure, but a lot more growth will happen because of new knowledge. One of the primary things behind Viksit Bharat is that our development has to be inclusive in nature. There are two aspects to it - passenger travel and freight. The important part is that for passenger travel to become more convenient, affordable, accessible, available, there are lot of things that are happening - introduction of newer trains, like Vande Bharat, more than 100 are already done, conversion of our bogeys of the normal category to the Vande Bharat standards, and redevelopment of our stations. The second part is related to freight traffic. It is also important because it drives economic growth – both the domestic prices are in control and export competitiveness of the country is also taken care of. However, even today, there is a significant potential for us to leverage modern technology and adopt that to move ahead. Today also, our tracks are bearing an excel load which is far from what can be. In the world over, there are always possibilities and examples existing, possibly most likely being in the Western Australia and other areas where you see the track lengths of carrying load of 45 tonnes and currently, we are far away from that. So there is a possibility of doing that”.

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Dr Surendra Kumar Ahirwar said, “India is a pool of talented people. The thing which is not happening is the connect between the knowledge which we are creating and the need of the knowledge of the industry. But as far as we understand and basis that understanding, we have the initiatives launched, including the PM Gati Shakti Kaushal Vikas Yojana, or opening of such universities, like Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV), or introduction of 105 courses on supply chain logistics transportation in universities of India. The knowledge which we need today is a new knowledge, which will emerge out of or be an outcome of the research and development. The researches are not happening probably, or research which are happening, they are not relevant to the problems which we are facing in the society or the industry or the economy. So there has to be a change of narrative probably, and for that, I think GSV-like institutions can play a leading role, where I want to say that research should be for developments. So let's replace research and development with research for development.”

The forum explored strategies to enhance the passenger experience while prioritising safety and sustainability. It concluded with a commitment from industry stakeholders to collaborate towards making Indian Railways a benchmark in global rail systems.