Navigating the Future of Rail Manufacturing in India

Sujatha Narayan, Senior Vice President & Region Leader, Wabtec Corporation in a recent interaction with Industry Outlook shared her views on the key competitive challenges, such as technological disruption and infrastructure development, in the railway sector and how industry players are addressing these challenges and more. Sujatha is a seasoned Business Leader with over 17 years of experience across prominent organizations, including Wabtec Corporation, 3M India,  Rogers Corporation in the US. She excels in Business transformation & Leadership and driving innovation and profitable growth.

Please provide us an overview of the current rail manufacturing landscape in India, considering the latest technological advancements and ongoing sector expansion.

Both in the mainline as well as urban transportation, India’s rail landscape is undergoing a significant transformation. The rail sector is poised for significant progress with multiple metro & regional transport projects receiving approvals, with a USD 31 Billion budget for the Indian Railways.

As one of the largest entities, the Indian Railways has a clear as well as articulated strategy that is focused on 3 key areas. It includes 100 per cent electrification with its target completion by March 2025 that is aimed at decreasing costs, improving sustainability as well as lowering dependence on imported fuel. Secondly, it aims to increase freight share from current 27 per cent to 45 per cent by 2030, decreasing logistics costs & driving economic growth, ultimately. Lastly, they are focused on enhancing passenger experience for the 8.5 billion travellers every year by improving speed, cleanliness, safety, comfort as well as punctuality.

Indian Railways is bringing better rolling stock with modern locomotives as well as enhanced wagons for increasing freight capacity as well as speed. Rendering high-speed, self-propelled trains with high-quality interiors coupled with the introduction of sleeper coaches, the Vande Bharat platform has revolutionized passenger travel, imminently. Furthermore, discussions are underway for high-speed trains reaching 250 kilometers/hr and the development of the bullet train system at 350 km/hr.

Prioritizing safety and this is highlighted by the Kavach automatic train protection system which is aimed at avoiding accidents. The additional technological advancements comprise condition-based monitoring for rolling stock, tracks as well as infrastructure leveraging tools such as ultrasonic fracture detection for enhancing maintenance & prevent failures.

The focus on modernizing locomotives, tracks as well as safety systems positions the Indian Railways at the forefront of rail innovation as well as growth in the years to come.

Please highlight key competitive challenges, such as technological disruption and infrastructure development, in the railway sector and how industry players are addressing these challenges.

This can be addressed in two parts. Firstly, in terms of technological disruption, while advancements such as semi-high-speed trains, the Kavach platform as well as the high-horsepower locomotives are significant. And these represent incremental improvements. The most transformative innovation Kavach – the Train Collision Avoidance System is set to revolutionize the signalling infrastructure. This system is attracting numerous market players. This has been developed by RDSO with support from local vendors.

Secondly, sustainability presents both an opportunity as well as a challenge. The greenest form of transportation – the Rail is under increasing pressure from government regulations for becoming even more sustainable. However, as greener technologies often come with high initial costs, financial constraints are making operators hesitate. Enterprises which can provide innovative, cost-effective solutions with long-term benefits will flourish in the evolving segment. There exists immense potential for frugal innovation specifically in addressing the lifecycle costs of rail operations.

Furthermore, the shift toward localized manufacturing that is driven by the country’s Make in India policies will need enterprises to move away from centralized manufacturing models. Although, establishing numerous factories in several countries can be capital-intensive, the ones who navigate this challenge smartly & efficiently will stand out as leaders in the global market.

In the global rail industry context, what cutting-edge technologies are currently shaping the engineering and technology landscape?

Centered around three key pillars which include sustainability, safety & efficiency the global rail industry is undergoing a significant transformation. The industry is driving innovations that are focused on decarbonization, with freight shifting from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources such as electrification, LNG, battery-powered locomotives, renewable diesel and hydrogen. In Europe, the “Shift to Green” initiative is pushing the development of green materials, low-carbon solutions as well as advancements in charging systems, braking systems, digital couplers as well as maintenance technologies.

Both freight as well as transit are embracing artificial intelligence & data analytics for autonomous operations on the efficiency front. Furthermore, railways can predict system health and take preventative measures even before a failure occurs by integrating ML with historical data. Also, virtual coupling of trains combined with advanced signaling are increasing train capacity without any additional infrastructure, decreasing costs as well as boosting network throughput. 

since safety remains one of the top priorities with the ongoing advancements in signalling systems around the world, Europe is implementing Europe Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) & European Train Control System (ETCS), while the USA has adopted Positive Train Control (PTC). In India, the Kavach system will improve safety & emerging technologies such as moving block signalling are being explored and all of these solutions are driven by robust cybersecurity measures. At Wabtec, we are happy to be at the forefront of these innovations, helping in shaping the future of the rail industry & addressing the key challenges that are faced by our clients.