Indian Railways Contribution to Indian Economy

Abstract

This article deals with the growth of railways in India. Railways were initially established by the British colonial rulers to extract raw materials for the factories located in the Great Britain and to sell the finished product of those factories in India. However, subsequently the railways proved to be a great boon for the economic and industrial development of the country. This process started during the colonial period itself. This increased substantially in post-colonial India. Once it got independence in 194 7, concentrated effort was made to bring industrial and economic development through various five-year plans. However, the development of the railways was not as fast as road transport development. Due to this the Indian Railways started losing its grip, both from the passenger and freight traffic. This article further delineates what are the major items of freight transportation like coal, iron ore, cement, chemical fertilizers, food grain, iron and steel, petroleum, limestone, salt, sugar and others. The article also gives a comparative position of railways with the roadways and explain how roadways have got a preferential treatment over the period when the railways has become very sluggish in its modernization, up gradation and expansion leading to stunted growth. Due to these tendencies the contribution of railways to GDP also reduced substantially. Silver linings in dark clouds have been seen only in last few years when emphases on modernization, up gradation, capacity creation and expansion have been prioritized. This may improve the condition of the Indian Railways and in turn there would be improvement in the contribution of Indian economy.