An Indecisive Indian

The Railway Ministry announced on July 26 th that the utilization of Vande Bharat (VB) trains had reached 99.60% during 2023-24, highlighting the growing popularity of the semi-high-speed trains among passengers.   Refer: https://www.financialexpress.com/business/railways-indian-railways-vande-bharat-trains-register-99-6-utilization-during-2023-24-details-here-3188916/   Later, a news item appeared that Indian Railways (IR) had received close to 200 requests from parliament members cutting across party lines, current and former chief and cabinet ministers and leaders in state legislative assemblies, for VB train services in their constituencies because these high-speed and comfortable trains, which are safer and offer modern amenities, have become the benchmark for train travel, replacing conventional trains. Those making requests include Union ministers Prahalad Joshi, RK Singh, Anupriya Singh Patel, Rao Inderjit Singh and Jyotiraditya M Scindia. Congress preside...

  I carry forward my thoughts from the previous blog: http://anindecisiveindian.blogspot.com/2023/04/indian-railways-in-amrit-kaal.html Readers are familiar with how Mr. Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways operates. He talks big and likes to make huge announcements. Some of it is indeed bluster, like saying that India’s road infrastructure would be like the US by 2024. Not all but a lot, however, soon turns into proof of the pudding and he gets due acclaim too from countrymen as a doer.   Contrast this with the Ministry of Railways. Big ticket announcements are made, the hoopla continues for some time and then they are forgotten as soon as it is time to move to the next big one. Arguably, there has been decisive action on tenders of unprecedented value in the last year or so. Kudos for that. But this blog is about announcements related to Vande Bharat variations, which appear like a flamboyant build-up without that much substance. There are many examples but l...