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Physical and financial capacity enhancement/capacity building of Indian railways over years

• To analyze how the physical capacity of Indian railways has enhanced over years.
• To examine financial capacity enhancement of Indian railways over years

In our research we have considered two types of Capacity enhancements one is physical capacity and another one is financial capacity.

Capacity enhancement has been defined in multiple ways; its ultimate purpose is to leave behind better skilled and oriented individuals, more responsive and effective institutions, and a better policy environment for pursuing development goals. Capacity enhancement at the institutional or policy level has three main ingredients

• The country’s resources and capabilities
• An enabling institutional environment
• Motivations and incentives/pressures that promote and help to sustain behavioral change

Capacity utilization:

Capacity utilization is a concept in economics and managerial accounting which refers to the extent to which an enterprise or a nation actually uses its installed productive capacity. Thus, it refers to the relationship between actual output that ‘is’ produced with the installed equipment and the potential output which ‘could’ be produced with it, if capacity was fully used.

If market demand grows, capacity utilization will rise. If demand weakens, capacity utilization will slacken. Economists and bankers often watch capacity utilization indicators for signs of inflation pressures. The capacity utilization rate is also an indicator of how efficiently thefactors of productionare being used.

Economic efficiency:

In economics, the term economic efficiency refers to the use of resources so as to maximize the production of goods and services. An economic system is said to be more efficient than another (in relative terms) if it can provide more goods and services for society without using more resources. In absolute terms, a situation can be called economically efficient if:

• No one can be made better off without making someone else worse off (commonly referred to asPareto efficiency).
• No additional output can be obtained without increasing the amount of inputs.
• Production proceeds at the lowest possible per-unit cost.

Technical efficiency:

Technical efficiency means that natural resources are transformed into goods and services without waste, Situation where it is impossible for a firm to produce, with the given know how, (1) a larger output from the same inputs or (2) the same output with less of one or more inputs without increasing the amount of other input.

Technical efficiency is the effectiveness with which a given set of inputs is used to produce an output. A firm is said to be technically efficient if a firm is producing the maximum output from the minimum quantity of inputs, such as labor, capital and technology.

Productivity:

Productivity is a measure of the efficiency ofproduction. Productivity is a ratio of production output to what is required to produce it (inputs). The measure of productivity is defined as a total output per one unit of a total input.

Physical capacity

1. Railway stations
2. Employees
3. Route length
4. Locomotives
5. Total investment
6. Capital at charge
7. Passenger service vehicles
8. Volume of traffic
9. Other coaching vehicles
10. Wagons

(To calculate efficiency and productivity we must apply models and tests. Dan bogart and lathika have used cobb douglas production function to calculate efficiency in the operations. Alivelu used a model to calculate productivity. DEA may be used)

Locomotives, coaches, wagons and other type of railway vehicles are together called as rolling stock, rolling stock originally referred to the vehicles that move on a railway, it usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles (Wikipedia). In In some countries the term is usually use to refer only to unpowered vehicles, specifically excluding locomotives which may be referred to as running stock, traction or motive power. In India all the railway vehicles are called as rolling stock.

In simple language locomotive is also called as engine, it is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word locomotive originates from the Latin word loco which means from a place and motivus which means causing motion. A locomotive has no payload capacity of its own and its sole purpose is to move the train along the tracks.

A wagon is a large container on wheels which is pulled by a train. Goods wagons or freight wagons are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. OTIF definition: ‘a railway vehicle not provided with a means of traction, which is intended to carry goods.’

A passenger car is also known as bogie in India. It is a piece of railway rolling ,stock that is designed to carry passengers. The term passenger car is also associated with a sleeping car, baggage, dining, railway post office and prisoner transport cars.

EMU DMU DHMU

(EMU)

A set of electrically powered self-propelling passenger rail vehicles able to operate in multiple with other such sets

(DMU)

A set of diesel-powered self-propelling passenger rail vehicles able to operate in multiple with other such sets. Such units, especially those consisting of a single vehicle, are sometimes termed railcars .

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country. Diesel-powered units may be further classified by their transmission type: diesel-electric (DEMU), diesel-mechanical (DMMU) or diesel-hydraulic (DHMU).

Diesel-mechanical

In a diesel-mechanical multiple unit (DMMU) the rotating energy of the engine is transmitted via a gearbox and driveshaft directly to the wheels of the train, like a car. The transmissions can be shifted manually by the driver, as in the great majority of first-generation British Rail DMUs, but in most applications gears are changed automatically.

Diesel-hydraulic

In a diesel-hydraulic multiple unit, a hydraulic torque converter, a type of fluid coupling, acts as the transmission medium for the motive power of the diesel engine to turn the wheels. Some units feature a hybrid mix of hydraulic and mechanical transmissions, usually reverting to the latter at higher operating speeds as this decreases engine RPM and noise.

Diesel-electric

In a diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) a diesel engine drives an electrical generator or an alternatorwhich produces electrical energy. The generated current is then fed to electric traction motors on the wheels or bogies in the same way as a conventional diesel electric locomotive. [1]

In modern DEMUs, such as the Bombardier Voyager family, each car is entirely self-contained and has its own engine, generator and electric motors. [1] In older designs, such as the British Rail Class 207, some cars within the consist may be entirely unpowered or only feature electric motors, obtaining electrical current from other cars in the consist which have a generator and engine.

Source: statistical summary- Indian railways

Source: statistical summary- Indian railways

Capacity enhancement in Passenger service

Source: statistical summary- Indian railways

Capacity enhancement in freight service