Modernizing the Railway System – Experience from China

Preamble

India has begun to plan High Speed Rail (HSR) and will implement 2,000 km of network by 2020. The first one between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is under planning stage. A recent research study on HSR in India states that: “HSR creates opportunities for regional economic development by improving connectivity between large urban centres, as well as other small and medium cities along the corridors, and generates socio-economic benefits by improving access to employment, health, education and time savings.” In doing so it will also deliver sizeable reduction in energy in the long term for short haul travel as it will replace air and road transport, both high energy consuming transport options (See http://www.unep.org/transport/lowcarbon/PDFs/Role_of_High_Speed_Rail_Final.pdf) for detail findings and policy recommendations.

People Republic of China (PRC), henceforth called China, has developed by now is 19,000 km, which has been reported in the Indian media as well (April 21, 2016 Indian Express) and is expected to reach 30,000 km by 2020. The initial speed planned for the HSR was 380 km per hour (kmph); trains were run at about 310 kmph for a short period till an accident occurred in 2011 July that led to officially reported death of 40 people, the speed has been restricted to about 300 kmph now. China has developed its own HSR, learning from Shinkansen of Japan and Siemens’ technology of Maglev trains. There is one Maglev in Shanghai. But, after that China has not pursued that route. There are some learnings for us in India from the experience of modernizing railway system in China.

I am aware that by taking a position of what China has achieved, I am committing a blasphemy. Some Indian media peddling jingoistic nationalism, a nationalism constructed on hatred and deriding the others (and China has been constructed as the other), and hence suspect this might be considered as blasphemy. Also, as the greatest civilization that has achieved everything in the past and know everything about how to make our future society, we need not learn from any other country, and not China, who has taken cudgels against us, as we read in everyday paper. But, since our Honourable Prime Minister has been impressed with China’s development, so he said when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I am writing this article that it might be spared the ignominy of being called ‘anti-national’. This article does not mean that I have uncritical adulation of China. Anyway, I would like to share what I have observed in China over last about 12 years of my visits to the country.

First high speed trains were operationalised in China in April 2007. One day in April 2007, when we were to take a train from Tianjin to Beijing, a friend said that today the trains may not run because some trains were being converted into high speed trains and the one between Beijing and Tianjin was one of them. Since then, the HSR network covers 28 of country’s 33 provinces and autonomous regions.

So what some may argue and others would say what about those who cannot afford the price of the fast trains? One is skeptical about modernization process as that may also mean discontinuing the low-speed trains for the high-speed months. It is therefore interesting to experience the railway facilities created in China and understand the system, something that is relevant for us in India. The HSR in China works within the larger context of national railway network and local subway network.

Railway Infrastructure in Cities

At this point in time, there are multiple railway stations in all the mega cities. For example, Beijing has Beijing central, Beijing west, Beijing north and Beijing south. Beijing south is especially constructed for HSR. Each one of them is no wconnected by a metro (called subway in China). The existing stations were upgraded to provide this metro connection as well as for the HSRs.

In the month of June 2008, Beijing west station was under repairs like all the public buildings in the city for the Olympics. Our taxi dropped us at the first floor level of this station. The ground floor is for pedestrian entry, for those who have taken a public bus to the station. The bus stand is adjacent to the railway station. The subway line 1 is linked to this station. Subway line 2 connects Beijing central station and Beijing North station. In Shanghai; there is Shanghai central and Shanghai south station located on lines 3 and 2 respectively. In Tianjin, the central station is connected by line 2 and Tianjin west by line 1. Thus, anyone traveling by train, HSR or not, gets to the station by public transport conveniently connected. All stations also have bus links or bus stations adjacent so that those not able to afford taxi or a subway could take a bus.

Photo 1: Tianjin Central Station

Photo Credit: Author

The tickets are scrutinized at the entrance of the station before one enters. Then the luggage is screened for security purposes before entering the main hall. I have seen these machines since 2004, my first visit to China. In the regular times, all these happen in an orderly way, through queues. The peak travel seasons such as the Chinese New Year, or May day holidays, see jamming of railway stations. The cities are very well equipped to handle crowd. But, now, to reduce the episodes of such peaking, China has done away with a few large vacations to many short holidays.

That apart; once inside the main building, in any station, for us in Beijing west station in 2008, we were not prepared for what we saw. Now, we have seen such stations in Tianjin, Shanghai and many other small city stations. For the first time we saw that each train had a waiting room or waiting area demarcated. In some stations, the waiting area is exclusive for the train and those without a ticket to that train are not allowed inside. In some stations, there are common waiting areas and there are boarding gates to the train. For each departing train, whether a slow passenger or a new bullet train and the waiting room number mentioned on the large display board in the main hall. On large stations, the waiting rooms are at ground and first floor level. The Tianjin central station looks like an airport and so does Shanghai south station (See Photos 1, 2 and 3).

Photo 3: Shanghai South Station from Inside

Photo credit: Author 

The underground area of the station is for the parking of private vehicles and queuing of the taxis for picking up the passengers. There is also bus station connection for those not affording to take a taxi or even affording to take a metro. This leaves the ground level space open for constructing a large railway station to hold large number of people at a time.

One is allowed to enter the waiting hall only if one has a ticket to travel. This means that from here on, only the passengers are allowed, which cuts down unnecessary crowds at the station and on the platform. The gate to the platform is opened up only 30 to 40 minutes before the departure of the train. For bullet commuter trains, such as between Beijing and Tianjin and so on, the boarding is allowed only half an hour before the train. Till then, no passengers are allowed on the platform. The trains have food stalls, toilets (which have cleaning attendants throughout the day, at least in the major cities), and sitting areas. Irrespective of what class of ticket one purchases or what class of train one chooses, the railway facilities enjoyed are the same for all. The farmers, the migrant labour, the international executives, etc. all enjoy the same level of facility.

Photo 3: From Waiting Room To Platform

Photo credit: Author

Different Category Trains

In 2008, we were taking a train to Changsha, Hunan province, the south central province, at a distance of 1700 km from Beijing, which the ‘Z’ category non-stop train we took covered in 13 hours. We took a soft seat, which is four berths in a compartment in a sleeper train whereas a hard seat in a sleeper train is six berths. This train had new coaches and our compartment had a television screen inside, with six channel options. Another striking feature was spotlessly white bed sheets covering the berth, and a quilt with spotlessly white cover.

The HSR trains are C, D and G category trains. The slowest trains are ‘N’ series trains. The latter stop at all the stations on the route and hence take much longer than ‘Z’ or HSR trains. They are also the cheapest. The ‘N’ category train that I traversed between Beijing and Tianjin in 2005 took 2 hours. The ‘D’ category HSR takes now 34 minutes between the same two stations. Till 2011, Beijing-Tianjin HSR took 28 minutes but now due to speed reduction the time has increased by 6 minutes. Even ‘N’ series trains, have clean sheets, as I had chance to experience in a train we took to Tangshan from Beijing.

There are other categories of the trains. Slower than the HSR are the ‘Z’ series trains. Slower than them are ‘T’ series and then ‘K’ series trains. ‘N’ series are the slowest. Faster one wants to travel, higher the price of ticket to be paid. By introducing HSR, the slower trains continue to work and provide services to those who would want to travel to small towns and those who have low affordability.

Important Learnings

What we see here is ‘Inclusive Development’, that which includes all sections of the population while upgrading and modernizing infrastructure. Fast trains require better infrastructure at the stations, and this is then shared by all those who can afford only slow trains. This is a first lesson one can learn, of differential categories for differentiated affordability built and managed in such a way that common infrastructure benefits all, irrespective of their paying class. There is a great sense of ‘public goods’ in China. Railway infrastructure is one such major public good.

Other interesting learning for us is to introduce an element of security at the stations. First thing required is to prevent the crowding of the stations, through allowing only passengers inside the waiting halls. The other security measure is through station design. In India people loiter on the railway platforms for various reasons; lack of night staying space, use of toilets and fill water. These are the development problems that need to be addressed nonetheless before embarking on modernizing infrastructure, something we have forgotten in this race to modernize infrastructure for globalization.

Third is giving due respect to train travelers by providing space for them to wait for their trains. This would work if the people travel light, as we see in China (those with large luggage have to check it in and pay for it) and if the trains go on time. Both are not difficult for us. The fourth learning is cleanliness, something that needs no elaboration. ‘Swachhata’ has become an important ‘motto’ for us with the initiative from the Prime Minister.

The last is pricing. Instead of reducing the train fares our Railway Ministers have been habitually doing, the surplus could be used for improving railway travel for our people and people would appreciate that more than the conditions they are traveling at the moment. Our people, large majority of them travel by train, deserve secure, orderly and healthy travel. Modernization does not mean exclusions, that is an important lesson one can draw from the experience of rail travel in China.