Overhaul required
The federal government seems to have averted the possibility of a grinding halt for the Pakistan railways with a Rs 11 billion bailout package. Though the bailout would have its supporters, many others would liken it to throwing good money after bad; that the money can be a breather, at best.
Not way off the mark, the cynics. Though the immediate problems of fuel and maintenance might have caused the cancellation of operations of a number of trains, anyone who has seen the way the PR operates would know that there are much bigger, systemic problems at play at the organisation. Ones that the government cannot simply throw money at. First of all, the railways cabinet portfolio and the top railways jobs in general are viewed as sinecures. The railways should be turned into a robust, responsive and efficient company under professional management instead of the top-heavy, over-bureaucratised ministry that it is today. Consider the pariah status of officers of the railways’ service. Not many make it to the apex slots which have become the province of DMG officers and the occasional financial services officer.
Though the mere mention of a professional management might conjure up the image of MBA-types in glass and chrome offices, the story next door in India couldn’t be have been more different. Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, not exactly the urbanite’s dream of an administrator, turned the Indian railways from a chronically loss-making enterprise into one that actually turned out a modest profit. All without raising the fares and despite, it has to be mentioned, his share of political recruitments and rumours of scams. His post-modern, holistic and people-friendly approach is a profile in the wisdom and ingenuity that only the political class can have, that side of the border or this. Just goes to show that the railways setup could be modernised well within the ambit of political control.
Finally, we should avoid unreasonable expectations. This year, roughly the same number of people will travel by railways as did in 1955. A comment, yes, on sustained bad management. But we should also keep in mind that the interstate highway network in the US all but killed off the rail services there. The development of non-rail transport infrastructure has relegated the railways from the primary importance they had in the times of the Raj when they were originally set up.