Rail travel on track

Rail travel is one of the most popular modes of conveyance in the world. Train services first started in England using steam engines, though diesel and electric propulsion are well established today. Its popularity can be gauged by the fact that only a few countries are still without rail systems.

Apart from cruise ships, trains are the only vehicles that can accommodate more than 1,000 passengers in one ‘go’. Nothing can beat the economies of scale that trains offer in terms of the cost per passenger. Moreover, it remains the nicest way to travel long distances. A plane is basically a metal tube that flies, while a bus does not offer the same sort of stability and comfort. No wonder that some call it a very romantic way to travel.

Trains have indeed come a long way since the first fee levying train service started in Wales 205 years ago. Rail services started in this country around 1864. Today, they have become the default choice for millions of commuters the world over for both short and long distance travel.

Trains now compete with planes in terms of sheer speed and luxury. Planes are still at least twice as fast as trains, but we have to take into account one important factor.

Planes often have to take off from and land in an airport that is at least one hour away from a given city centre. Trains, on the other hand, can go directly to the heart of the city.

That can potentially save a lot of time. Ironically, the train is often the best way to reach the airport itself. While plans and trains are more or less equal in terms of safety, if you fear flying the train is the best alternative option where available and possible.

Japan has long held the records for the fastest trains in the world with its acclaimed Shinkansen ‘Bullet’ trains. The fastest Shinkansen train, the Nozomi, can reach speeds up to 300 Km/h, which means that Osaka (515 Km from Tokyo) is just 2.5 hours away from the Japanese capital. Japan also demonstrated an even faster Magnetic Levitation (maglev) based train that can reach 500 Km/h. France has the TGV service (Trains a Grande Vitesse - meaning High Speed Train) with speeds up to 320 Km/h. Germany’s Inter City Express (ICE) trains are also very fast. But it is China that is taking the fastest strides in rail travel. Last week, China opened the world’s longest high-speed rail line that more than halves the time required to travel from the country’s capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China.

High-speed

The opening of the 2,298 kilometre line was commemorated by the 9 a.m. departure of a train from Beijing for Guangzhou.

Trains on the latest high-speed line will initially run at 300 Km/h with a travel time of about eight hours. Before, the fastest time between the two cities by train was more than 20 hours. The opening of the new line brings the distance covered by China’s high-speed railway system to over 9,300 km.

China also has one of the few commercially operated Maglev systems. The Shanghai Maglev Train or Shanghai Transrapid is the first commercially operated high speed magnetic levitation line in the world. The train line was designed to connect the Shanghai airport and the outskirts of central Pudong where passengers could interchange to the Shanghai Metro. The top operational commercial speed of this train is 431 km/h making it the world's fastest train in regular commercial service since its opening in early 2004.

Clearly, train travel is fast becoming the best option for faster, cleaner, greener travel. Here in Sri Lanka, train travel is popular, but not as popular as it should be.

There are many factors for this status quo. One is that the train network does not reach every part of the country - indeed, we have the dubious distinction of literally ‘losing track’ of rail development. The Kelani Valley line extended all the way to Opanaike - today it terminates at Avissawella.

The Northern line was destroyed by the LTTE and is only now being rebuilt. Serious thought should be given to extending the rail services to cities which are currently not part of the rail network.

Another factor is that our trains are not all that efficient, clean and fast. Train stations also need an upgrade. While the new power sets/compartments from India and China are indeed superior to the existing stock of trains, there is still room for improvement in this regard. A prime example is the high demand for the luxury carriages operated by two private companies, which are almost on par with similar services offered in developed countries. While one cannot expect all trains to reach such standards of luxury, better comfort levels will attract more passengers across the board. Rail authorities should give serious thought to this suggestion, which has often been made in the mainstream media.

Destinations

The biggest issue is that people are getting used to reaching their destinations faster, thanks to the new expressways and newly renovated roads. Galle is now just one hour away from Kottawa on the Southern Expressway. The Bandaranaike International Airport will be just 30 minutes away from Colombo when the Airport Expressway opens next year. Passengers would like to see trains doing the same thing.

The Colombo - Matara train is now faster after improvements to the rail track with Indian assistance. Similarly, the authorities have a golden opportunity to “build back better” the Colombo - KKS Northern Railway line to allow for faster trains. It would not be feasible to expect 300 Km/h speeds here (these lines cost billions of dollars to build), but even fifty percent of that would shave hours off the Colombo - Jaffna run, which incidentally takes nearly 8-10 hours by road.

It goes without saying that we have to electrify the rail network at some point to make these speeds possible. Vast improvements have to be made to signalling and level crossing barriers as well to accommodate faster trains.

Passenger transport is only one aspect of rail operations. We give little thought to the possibility of transporting more freight by rail. However, it is much more economical in the long run than deploying a multitude of container trucks that often clog traffic and cause horrendous accidents. It will also help reduce fuel consumption.

A mechanism should be evolved to transport more freight by rail in consultation with major importers and exporters. Transport experts from here and abroad should be called in to offer proposals for improving all aspects of our train service from computerised ticketing to punctual departures and arrivals. Rail may be more than 200 years old, but we are on track to seeing exciting times ahead for both goods and passenger trains all over the world.