Technological Advancement in the Indian Railway Sector

In an interaction with Industry Outlook, Lalit Tejwani, Chief Marketing Officer, Hind Rectifiers shares his insights on the recent trends and developments in the Indian Railway sector. He also talks about the challenges and advancements in the growth of the Railway equipment market in India.

Lalit is a skilled professional with over three decades of experience in engineered solutions for infrastructure and heavy industries such as railways, power, steel, mining, cement, including senior management positions with SIEMENS, ABB, ALSTOM, responsible for railroad business in South Asia, Middle East, and Africa

What are the key trends in the railway sector in India?

Indian Railways (IR) has formulated the National Rail Plan 2030, which gives a long-term vision and sets the trends for the following areas of enhancement:

Rail Network: To increase traffic throughput the railway network is being augmented by constructing new lines, doubling existing tracks, and upgrading infrastructure to accommodate more goods and passengers.

Electrification and energy efficiency: Electrification of the entire railway network has been made a priority to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and promote environmental sustainability. This includes the conversion of existing diesel locomotives to electric ones and the development of energy-efficient technologies. IR is also adopting solar, wind, and other green initiatives.

Freight Capacity: Creation of dedicated freight corridors to facilitate the seamless movement of goods across the country, & replenish freight wagon holding. IR targets to considerably increase the modal share of freight traffic by rail by reducing transit time, new rolling stock, and improving logistics support. Once freight traffic gradually shifts to new dedicated freight routes, the existing rail network will be freed up for more passenger trains.

Modernizing rolling stock:  Last year we saw a radical change in IR’s rolling stock procurement strategy. Mega tenders running in thousands of crores each have been floated and awarded In order to introduce advanced, new-generation of rolling stock, including high-speed trains, improved locomotives, and modern coaches, to provide a faster and better travel experience for passengers.

Technology integration: IR is adopting advanced signaling, train controls, digitization for better real-time data access, and automated infrastructure inspection systems. These measures will enhance operations, safety, maintenance, and headway.

   How are technological advancements affecting the demand for railway equipment in India?

Apart from the existing locomotives, and passenger stock that IR themselves manufacture, IR is now introducing more Electrical Multiple Units (EMU) type trainsets for both suburban and long-distance passenger transport. In a locomotive-hauled train, the traction power is provided only by the locomotive at the head of the train, and the remaining coaches, sometimes up to 24 coaches, are trailing. Whereas in EMU trainsets the tractive effort is shared by several motor coaches spread over the length of the train, hence making them better for acceleration and energy management.

Such new generation of Trainsets is being introduced like Vande Bharat (up to 160Kmph for       long distance, chair car & sleeper), Vande Metro (up to 100Km, chair car), and even a plan for Vande Bharat-Freight, for high-value time-sensitive cargo. These new generations of trains are being built both by IR as well as private companies who have been awarded turnkey contracts including design, manufacture, supply, and maintenance of up to 35 years.

Our company, Hind Rectifiers has been in the business of designing and manufacturing electronics, electrical, and electro-mechanical power conversion products for the last 65 years, and has been exporting to more than 25 countries, globally.  In the rail sector, we have been supplying and maintaining Class A equipment like state-of-the-art IGBT-based converters, transformers, traction motors, electrical panels, HVAC, etc for all types of railway rolling stock. For companies like HIRECT, it is both a challenge and an opportunity to design and develop at a faster pace sub-systems for these new generations of rolling stock in India. 

What are the primary obstacles facing the growth of the railway equipment market in India?

IR has been traditionally procuring complete wagons for freight, and manufacturing all locomotives, and coaches at seven production units owned by it. There is an equipment-wise approval/enlistment of vendors, and sub-systems are procured from enlisted vendors via a tendering process. Since there are thousands of parts and enlisted vendors, IR’s relationship with vendors has been transactional.

Once a vendor meets the specifications, he is entitled to get orders based on the lowest quoted prices, which are subject to further downward pressure using reverse auctioning. Since the vendor's obligation is limited to meeting the specifications which are often not revised for several years, there is no motivation for vendors to innovate, and invest in new technology. The introduction of new vendors and technologies takes several years due to the bureaucratic process involved.  There have been instances where vendors have invested in developing solutions to meet IR’s new requirements. However, these concepts have not been fructified due to moving the goalposts and changing policies.

How are sustainability concerns changing the dynamics of the railway equipment market in India?

IR is close to achieving 100% electrification of its network with a focus on reducing its carbon footprint and contributing to sustainable development. The railways are adopting various measures, such as deploying energy efficiency and braking energy recovery from modern rolling stock. Renewable energy is being implemented in production units, stations, and even on roofs of rolling stock.

Since Diesel based rolling stock has been phased out, demand for electrical train aggregates has surged. Moreover, with an increasing population of energy-efficient EMU trainsets, equipment suppliers are now aligning themselves to cater to this new design of aggregates. IR is also introducing hydrogen fuel cell-powered rolling stock instead of diesel which will lead to the development of new technology & solutions.

Since most of the IR rolling stock uses steel or stainless steel-based car body construction which is a heavier metal, IR is now in the process of introducing an aluminum car body for their modern rolling stock. This will help to reduce the overall weight of rolling stock, leading to energy-efficient operation.

How can Indian railway equipment manufacturers improve their production capacity and product innovation to stay competitive in the global market?    

Until now railway equipment suppliers in India were mainly focused on catering to aggregates and components required for rolling stock built by IR’s production units. Now as more and more private rolling stock manufacturers are setting up huge production capacities in India, it presents both challenges and opportunities to the railway equipment industry. Private manufacturing companies operate on a global level and expect international standards. Also, they have their own vendor assessment criteria for the products and processes, through which the equipment manufacturers have to pass. Since many of the contracts being awarded both for mainline and metro rolling stock include maintenance, sometimes for the lifetime, the design thinking has to be adapted accordingly. Private manufacturers seek to incorporate various product life-cycle values into the early stages of design considering “Life-cycle” engineering. These values include functional performance, manufacturability, serviceability, and environmental impact.

The above presents equipment manufacturers with a challenge to continuously innovate and upgrade their products for the demanding market situation, and an opportunity to be competent to bravely present themselves in the global arena with state-of-the-art railway solutions.