The
Express Tribune published an article The Collapse of Pakistan Railways in its
September 20, 2010 issue. The article gives a substantial introduction to our
neighbour Railways from the beginning till now, and its past glory and
achievements as well (for instance its exports to Bangladesh and Srilanka in
past years along with meeting its local needs). The glorious days lasted till
the 90's in the last century. And then Musharraf government took over and
appointed General Javed Ashraf the railway
minster, General Saeed the chairman and General Hamid Butt the general manager
of manufacturing and services, all of whom had no prior experience in railways.
So Pakistan Railway's (PR) suffering was inevitable (somewhat the same is also
noticed in Indian Railway in recent years in terms of mismanagement, but being
a massive network and an efficient freight traffic have managed to maintain the
equilibrium at its own cost). This was the period when PR's balance sheet saw a
rapid decline.
Popular
jokes of Chinese maal really proved right with the new arrival of all
the way inefficient locomotives from China which were far inferior than the
existing 30/40 years old locomotives in PR. These locomotives had a higher axle
load much above the bearing capacity of the mainline tracks in PR and far
beyond the branch lines. Additional impact for spare parts procurement valued
at $15 million annually made them the most expensive locomotives ever procured by
PR. There was a burden of 64 such Chinese maal. And now in recent years
(2009-2010) an additional order for 75 brand new locomotives has been bagged by
the same Chinese middleman Dong Feng Trading House (DFTH) and Mishan
Locomotives Works bagged an additional order for 75 brand new locomotives. And
still the damage caused to PR was felt not enough by the diplomats and Railway
officials. So 200 passenger carriages at an exorbitant cost are also being
procured, although the same could be manufactured by the factory in Islamabad
with imported raw material. Those in India who feel amazed at the achievement
of high speed trains in China must also scrutinise the 'high quality' railway
products in China and draw a parallel between recent RCF (Rail Coach Factory,
Kapoorthala) in India and the aluminum toothpaste tube. China can really
produce high quality junk and export to the neighbouring countries just like
their electronic gadgets.
PR
has almost 500 locomotives to its stable, but more than half of the diesel-electric
(or simply diesel) locomotives are now stabled due to lack of spare parts from
foreign agencies and electric locos is in need of infrastructure to operate.
Some sources claim that PR now has only about 70 locomotives in perfect
condition, whereas Indian Railways (IR) manufactures about 250
diesel locomotives a year and has 4,214 electric and 6,000 diesel engines in
its inventory. Pakistan, at this point, is facing an acute
shortage of locomotives that has forced its railways to suspend operations of
as many as 128 passenger trains in recent months. Recent news in
The Telegraph's Calcutta edition dated 18th May, 2012 says about a recent
development in Pakistan Railways involving IR as well. “A team of officials
from Pakistan had met the Indian counterparts and broad consensus emerged on
leasing the locomotives,” a senior railway ministry official said. IR sell
locomotives on purchase basis to other countries but this will be for the first
time that IR is considering giving it on hiring as PR prefers leasing to
buying. According to sources IR may provide 50 locomotives on lease at the rate
of Rs 1,500 per hour per engine of 3,000 HP. This is the first time that IR is
leasing out its locos to any country. But why PR went for leasing than buying
the locos? And why PR chose only IR locos for this deal? These might be the
causes that concerned:
1. A depreciation fund, which was meant for scheduled
preventive repair and maintenance of locomotives, carriages and tracks, has
been disbanded.
2.
Pakistan Railways had compatible locomotives from GE, Hitachi and other
companies – all with different axle loads but compatible with the railway
tracks. Their main line tracks have the capability of handling a load of 22
tons per axle, while branch lines can sustain 16.5 tons per axle.
And
remember Chinese locos had a much higher axle load above these limits,
practically unsuitable for functioning in the network. A special dispensation
was issued by the Railways allowing their operation on sections where it could
prove dangerous and this is still in force. This has led to numerous accidents
and loss of precious lives.
From
the specifications it is evident that IR will lease out WDM3A class of
locomotives with axle load of 18.8 tonnes and
total weight 112.8t. Although WDG3A class freighter locos also share the same
power-pack and extensively used in passenger services in India (sometimes
spotted even with prestigious trains like Rajdhani Express), yet the higher
axle load of 20.5t appears disadvantageous for PR.
 |
| A DLMW rebuilt WDM3A locomotive (origin WDM2A) of New Guwahati Locoshed |
 |
| A DLW built WDM3A of Gooty Locoshed |
Now
this is really a neighbourly help rendered by India for a country that is
considered as a potential threat. But there are some other doubts which linger
to railfans' (that is the popular term used for railway fanatics in the
subcontinent, not to be confused with mechanical fan in the summer season) minds. It
is evident that IR is proceeding considering the axle load and condition of the
railway tracks as officially quoted. But decades of ill-maintenance including
the lack of schedule preventive repair of tracks may pose as a threat to the
underframe of the IR horses as well. With a failing system we cannot expect the
proper training of loco pilots in PR which may enable them to efficiently run
locos with modern technology. So at first operational speed will be quite low.
After all those if the Indian locos do not exhibit a high rate of fuel
efficiency, then there is a fear that Pakistan may stop the leasing payments.
One can perceive that Pakistan has been reduced to a “Begging
Bowl” as the Economy has been shattered, to say the least, and there is no
money for anything and everything. Thus Indian Railways should create a
foolproof contract with irrevocable Bank Guarantees from Major International
Banks or otherwise I. R. and thereby India will end up with Egg on their Face by
suffering huge Financial Losses.
Funny Railway-Political Drama: Pakistan has one WDM2 locomotive (an Alco based 2650HP diesel locomotive) of IR as a war captive! In 1969, one WDM-2 locomotive of Indian Railways was
appropriated by Pakistan and incorporated into Pakistan Railway's fleet. There
are few details available about the circumstances of the appropriation, and the
road number of the locomotive assigned by IR is not known, although it is
thought to be from a batch erected by DLW-Varanasi in 1965. PR initially
assigned it a road number of 3770, but it was later renumbered to 4621 to fit
into the ALU26 loco series since the WDM-2 is an Alco DL-560 model. As late as
2000, the loco is said to have been active and based at Rawalpindi shed. The
locomotive was nicknamed 'Indira Gandhi' by Pakistan Railways. So, in case a war breaks out between India and Pakistan,
the number of prisoners with upgraded technology will rise to 51. On the other
hand, during the India-Pakistan war of 1971, a
locomotive from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) which had arrived at Howrah was
detained and never returned after the war ended. It is located now at Bandel,
although it has never been operated since its appropriation.
(Inputs from IRFCA acknowledged)
Santulan Mahanta
Research Scholar
The English and Foreign Languages University
Lucknow Campus-226001
Mobile: +919473826815
san2lanjbc@gmail.com
