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Railways were an important driver of global economic growth in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Whilst their role is well documented in industrial economies, we know less about their macro‐economic impact in developing countries. In this paper, we first estimate the aggregate growth impact of Indian railways, one of the largest networks in the world in the early twentieth century. Then, we compare their impact in India to four emerging Latin American economies (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay) and the Cape colony. Using growth accounting techniques common to the cross‐country estimates, we argue that the aggregate growth impact of Indian railways was significant, increasing Indian gross domestic product (GDP) per capita by 13.5 per cent by 1912. We also find that the growth impact of Indian railways was similar to Brazil and Mexico, but smaller than Argentina and the Cape. Compared with the latter, India had a smaller size of railway freight revenues in the economy and lower wages to fares leading to lower passenger time savings. Railways were the most important infrastructure driver of economic growth in India during the first era of globalization from 1860 to 1912, but they contributed less than in richer and more dynamic developing economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reappraises nature of technology transfer in a colonial context by underlining how the colonised mediated and shaped what was ostensibly an imposition by the imperial administration. This wider point is illustrated by demonstrating the ways in which in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, different groups of Indians used newly introduced railways to reconceptualise meanings of travel by adding new categories of travel while significantly modifying the extant ones. Crucially deviating from both 'technology as imperialism' and 'technology as subversion' historiographical paradigms, this article argues for a more nuanced appraisal of technology transfer, especially emphasising the role of users in shaping the impact of technology. Examining a diverse range of sources, viz., railway records (Annual Railway Reports and railway passenger statistics), newspaper reports and travelogues and pamphlets written by Indian railway travellers, the article claims Indians not only mediated the impact of trains on travel in late colonial India; but they shaped the outcome of this technology transfer in ways that reveals agency and remarkable involvement with a new mode of transit. In short, the article demonstrates dynamic interaction between imperial policies and responses of the colonised through the lens of technology transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we analyse India's transport sector policy. The study examines the two important modes of transport, viz., road and rail, and analyses the efficiency of transport infrastructure from 2011 to 2019. Through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), we evaluate modes in terms of the capacity of registered road goods vehicles and railway goods wagons, truck km/train km and energy consumption and corresponding freight traffic. The analysis gives valuable insight into the fact that rail infrastructure is more efficient than road infrastructure. Still, current transport sector policies promote energy-intensive carbon-fuel road vehicles rather than energy-efficient alternative transport modes. The study suggests the changes that may be incorporated in inputs to improve the efficiency of the road infrastructure. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-Malmquist Index analysis reports the need for total factor productivity improvement in rail transport and the introduction of technological innovations in road and rail transport sector management. The study employs a well-to-wheel (WTW) based index to ascertain the energy consumed and pollutants emitted by freight-carrying road and rail modes between two leading business hubs of India, i.e., Ludhiana and Mumbai. The paper identifies policy gaps and suggests a holistic approach for need-based roadway investment and a time-bound development of railway infrastructure in India. Our study generates valuable implications for India's policy planners and government authorities and provides new insights to other countries. • The study examines road and rail transport, and analyses the efficiency and energy consumption of these modes. • The study suggests the changes to improve the efficiency of the road infrastructure. • The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-Malmquist Index analysis and well-to-wheel (WTW) based index have been employed for the analysis. • The paper suggests a need-based roadway investment approach and a time-bound development of railway infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main hindrances to the large-scale development of renewable-energy projects are the lack of bankability and the inability to align investments and investors with suitable financial instruments or robust policy measures. To illustrate a bankable project, this paper presents a research-based case study on the installation of solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftops of 195 trains of the Indian Railways. Detailed information on the annual running hours, exposure to sunlight, efficiency of solar photovoltaic generation and electrical power demands of each rail coach is considered to conduct a quantitative measure of the tentative amount of fossil fuel savings. The purpose is to provide insight into the types of renewable-energy projects that can be highly attractive to financial institutions and promoters due to their lucrative internal return on investment. As seen in this case study, there are annual savings in diesel of 12 323 088 litres and a CO2 reduction of 32 755 tonnes, with return on investment of 1.3 years. Furthermore, this study conducts a comprehensive analysis of the limitations of existing renewable-energy project financing mechanisms in India. Subsequently, three policy measures are recommended to develop a robust financial mechanism that can effectively meet the needs of investors and investors. These measures include increasing equity injection through a buy-and-hold strategy, providing direct tax benefits to promoters and financing through real-estate investment trusts. The findings are highly relevant to address the challenges associated with bridging the financial gap between access to finance and capital investment in the renewable-energy sector, especially for Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian Railways is India's biggest employer and undeniably influences the country's transportation network, economy, and social and cultural systems. The network is split into zones for operational reasons. It is vital to evaluate these railway networks to identify their strengths and shortcomings and to improve their performance. Past works often use Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate railway services. Our contribution lies in the inclusion of several aspects not previously considered, such as (i) both tangible and intangible criteria, (ii) the hierarchical nature of the problem, and (iii) additional useful criteria and data to analyze the performance of the zones, including physical assets, operating ratio, accidents, comfort, travel experience, flexibility, transparency, etc. We use the novel Hierarchical Fuzzy Axiomatic Design method to evaluate the performance of sixteen zones in the Indian Railways since it suits our problem well. We find that the Southern Railway zone performs best, while the Northeast Frontier zone is ranked last. We also identify the strengths and weaknesses of all railway zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes an attempt to fill some of the gaps present in the literature related to various modes of transport in India. It presents a comparative cost study of rail and Inland Water Transport (IWT) in the Indian context. The case of railway transport is based on the existing construction and operation norms of Indian Railways. In contrast, IWT cost parameters are based on discussions with manufacturers of barges in India and operators of barges carrying coal for Frakka Thermal Power Plant in the Ganges. The estimated results suggest that water ways in India have a comparative advantage over the rail in terms of capital costs (including its various components), climate change cost of environmental costs and social (health and accident) costs as these costs are much lower in case of IWT as compared to railways. However, IWT has no comparative advantage in operation. Estimates indicate that operation and maintenance cost of railways with electric traction is lower than that of IWT mainly because of less fuel consumption. All this indicates that there is a need to develop given waterways and introduce efficient barges in water transport so that it can compete with other modes of transport like Railways. In fact, IWT has characteristics to facilitate a system that meets the requirement of an efficient and sustainable transport system which is cost-effective in operation when compared with railways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Abala Basu's travelogues for children, published in the journal Mukul and based on her travels across India and Europe, the author appears to be performing the dual task of disseminating knowledge and creating an image of the nation. Travel, employed in this way, becomes a tool of both education and politics where retelling the past serves both purposes equally. Within the broader context of the development of travel writing and nationalism, this article focuses on Abala Basu's travelogues about India to seek an answer to how Indians were constructing and representing themselves and the nation to children through travel writing. It is by studying landscapes produced by the writing as well as images accompanying the text through the lens of gender, religion, and class that this article deals with the questions of construction, representation, and "discovery". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modal shift arises when a new mode (or upgraded mode) has an added advantage(s) over the existing mode for the same cost of travel. Present study aims to examine the shift behaviour of upper class rail passengers (AC - First Class, I-AC & AC - 2 Tier, II-AC) to Low Cost Airlines (LCA) under long-haul scenario (distance > 1,000 Km) in India. For this purpose, a Stated Preference (SP) questionnaire was prepared and conducted face-to-face interview survey among 300 upper class rail passengers whose trip origin as Chennai (India). The survey data was coded and a binary Logit model was developed using Statistical Software Tools (SST) software. The results indicated that the passengers making personal trip with age more than sixty travelling in upper class rail are more likely to switch to LCA. Whereas passengers who think the air travel is costly are less likely to switch to air mode. Proposed fare difference significantly influenced in modal shift behaviour with t-value of -18.46. The study revealed that when the air fare is equal to I AC class rail fare, 95% of upper class passengers are willing to shift to air mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Railways are treated as the lifeline of India, as they play a major role in the transportation of passengers and goods due to their cost effectiveness and large network. From 1970 to 2014, passenger and the net ton kms increased by a factor of 4 and 10, respectively. This significant increase in transportation demand was met by the transition of locomotives from steam to diesel and electric in the last few decades, as better energy efficiency led to lower operation costs. For policy making, emission inventory of locomotives is essential for better understanding of the relation between air quality and the choice of traction. However, the available national emission inventories developed by the top-down approach using the national fuel consumption statistics contain huge uncertainties due to non-consideration of activity data, such as age, power and type of locomotive. To estimate this uncertainty, for the first time, a bottom-up approach using link specific activity data was used to develop the emission inventory for North-eastern Indian states. In comparison to the bottom-up approach, the emissions calculated by top-down approach were lower in case of passenger transport (246% for NO x) and higher (36% for NO x) in case of goods transport. Further analysis indicated that, even though the estimated emissions were sensitive to emission factors used, role of activity data was more significant. Assuming that this difference is representative for other parts of the country, a national emission inventory for Indian Railways was developed using a modified top-down approach. Using the newly developed emission inventory for railways and the existing fuel based emissions for roadways, it was estimated that if road based freight transport is switched to rail, an average decrease of 58% and 50% of NO x and CO 2 , respectively can be achieved. Highlights • The possible uncertainties using top-down approach for estimating greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from Indian railways was estimated. • In comparison to the bottom-up, the emissions calculated by top-down approach were lower in case of passenger transport and higher in case of goods transport. • Around 147 and 2 Gg/y of reduction in CO 2 and NO x emissions can be achieved by shifting from road to rail transport in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critics of affirmative action policies often claim that increasing the representation of members of marginalized communities in jobs comes at the cost of reduced productive efficiency. This paper reports on a systematic empirical analysis of productivity in the Indian Railways - the world's largest employer subject to affirmative action - in which we examined whether or not higher proportions of affirmative action beneficiaries in employment reduce efficiency in the railway system. We found no evidence for such an effect; and some of our results provide tentative support for the claim that greater labor force diversity boosts productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to analyse the pattern of development of the coal mining industry in Bengal during the nineteenth century, and also its underlying causations. It reveals that though attempted for the first time in 1774, regular excavation of coal mines took off only around the mid-nineteenth century. I argue that mining in Bengal suffered initially from the adverse attitude of colonial governance and its institutions, and afterwards, from the lack of mineralogical knowledge, inefficient transport networks and the scarcity of labour. Once the style of governance shifted from the Company State to the rule of the British Crown, those impediments disappeared. These deliberations show how those successive events established a comparative cost advantage in favour of Bengal coal, enabling it to compete with British coal in the domestic market. The export ventures of the industry, especially in South and Southeast Asia, are also briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport sector is a major contributor of carbon emissions in India. As railways are the most environment-friendly mode of transport we look at the spearheading role of Indian Railway (IR) in bringing about the modal shift from road and airways to rail with a holistic perspective considering India’s development stage and resource situation. India being an emerging economy, faces many other social and developmental challenges, which have to be incorporated in assessing the viability of the solutions. In order to assess the total impact of the transportation sector a ‘wells to wheels’ approach needs to be adopted to quantify the emissions from the production to distribution and final usages alongside its impact to the competing societal goals utilizing the same resources. This study focuses on evaluating IR’s critical policy decision towards providing efficient transport i.e. the choice of traction. It is inferred that until such time the fuel mix of power production in India remains the same, i.e. coal dominated and there is a shortage of electricity in the country, the accumulated carbon footprints of running electric locos will be higher. There should be a judicious mix of both the tractions to achieve a balance in environmental efficacy, sustainability and equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization and rising household incomes in India have led to growing transport demand, particularly during 1990–2010. Emissions from transportation have been implicated in air quality and climate effects. In this work, emissions of particulate matter (PM 2.5 or mass concentration of particles smaller than 2.5 um diameter), black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC), were estimated from the transport sector in India, using detailed technology divisions and regionally measured emission factors. Modes of transport addressed in this work include road transport, railways, shipping and aviation, but exclude off-road equipment like diesel machinery and tractors. For road transport, a vehicle fleet model was used, with parameters derived from vehicle sales, registration data, and surveyed age-profile. The fraction of extremely high emitting vehicles, or superemitters, which is highly uncertain, was assumed as 20%. Annual vehicle utilization estimates were based on regional surveys and user population. For railways, shipping and aviation, a top-down approach was applied, using nationally reported fuel consumption. Fuel use and emissions from on-road vehicles were disaggregated at the state level, with separate estimates for 30 cities in India. The on-road fleet was dominated by two-wheelers, followed by four-and three-wheelers, with new vehicles comprising the majority of the fleet for each vehicle type. A total of 276 (−156, 270) Gg/y PM 2.5 , 144 (−99, 207) Gg/y BC, and 95 (−64, 130) Gg/y OC emissions were estimated, with over 97% contribution from on-road transport. Largest emitters were identified as heavy duty diesel vehicles for PM 2.5 and BC, but two-stroke vehicles and superemitters for OC. Old vehicles (pre-2005) contributed significantly more (∼70%) emissions, while their share in the vehicle fleet was smaller (∼45%). Emission estimates were sensitive to assumed superemitter fraction. Improvement of emission estimates requires on-road emission factor measurements for all vehicle types and a better understanding of vehicle utilization and superemitter fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Our objective is to shed empirical light on a claim often made by critics of affirmative action policies: that increasing the representation of members of marginalized communities in jobs comes at the cost of reduced productive efficiency. We undertake a systematic empirical analysis of productivity in the Indian Railways—the world’s largest employer subject to affirmative action—in order to assess whether higher proportions of affirmative action beneficiaries in employment have reduced efficiency in the railway system. We find no evidence for such an effect; indeed, some of our results suggest that the opposite is true. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention to the visual within the political anthropology of India has focused almost exclusively on spectacle and the excessively visible. This paper examines the question of visibility by interrogating the conditions that enable collective agendas to be seen as political, and advocates closer attention to the role of the state in these processes of recognition. In doing so, it emphasises shifts in the visual aspects of communicative networks and uses specific examples of mass protest and blockage agitation to trace longer histories of practice, expanding the domains of both the visual and the political available as objects of scholarly attention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – This paper aims at developing a set of guidelines for potential inside action researchers (IARrs). Design/methodology/approach – Action research was done in three units of Indian Railways. At each unit two IARrs were engaged. The six IARrs and the author (also an IARr at one of the units) used reflection during action and reflection after action to conduct the action research. Findings – The paper shows that IARrs must carry good credibility, relationships have to be continually worked, ethical clearance must be dynamic to the emerging situations and the IARrs should not emphasize the pattern of their previous interactions with the members of the research world. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on the action research done in manufacturing units within Indian bureaucracy. The generalization of findings to other organizational set up was not verified. Practical implications – It brings out specific "dos" and "don'ts" for a prospective IARr. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the action research method by bringing out new issues faced by IARrs while conducting insider action research in large organizations. With respect to large-scale change, it brings out that perception of shared world among IARrs facilitates large scale change. Middle managers are better suited as IARr than top managers and an ab-initio large scale planning is not necessary to cause a large scale change in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – With an objective to measure the quality of service provided at Indian railway stations, the purpose of this paper is to propose a method that indicates the level of importance and satisfaction which other known methods of service quality assessment do not clearly provide. In total, six attributes related to passenger services of an Indian railway station are considered. Prioritization of the attributes for improvement of service quality can be decided based on the proposed method. Design/methodology/approach – The Law of Categorical Judgment is used to determine levels of importance and levels of satisfaction of disaggregated passenger groups and passengers as a whole. The law is applied to the responses obtained, using a Likert scale, to the six attributes through random passenger survey of different groups at Howrah Railway Station, a major railway terminal in eastern India. The objective is to check the difference in importance levels and satisfaction levels and then prioritize for improvement accordingly. Findings – The findings are based on the responses of passengers to the questions designed for the purpose of assessing the service quality based on six different attributes. Analysis of results shows that both the levels of importance, as well as satisfaction, can be assessed by the Law of Categorical Judgment. The results indicate that passengers are mostly dissatisfied with "extent of waiting"; thereafter, there is a desire for further improvement of the "security" system. The "travel associated facilities" such as Automated Teller Machine and use of cashless facilities at ticket counters; and "passenger amenities" such as station furniture and refreshment room have also been ranked higher in terms of need for improvements. Research limitations/implications – The work excludes some of the intangible service aspects such as behaviour, friendliness, managerial skills, etc. Originality/value – The designed methodology helps in making decisions on levels of service, which is a better indicator of the service quality, particularly for public services such as railway stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracing the history of accommodation for female passengers on Indian railways, this article explores the anxieties and imperatives that regulated the presence of women in railway spaces in colonial India. Examining the entry of women into the public space of the railway, it emphasizes how an axiomatic relationship between female seclusion, respectability and mobility became pivotal to the conversation about women passengers from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. This correlation both cemented a masculine affinity across racial boundaries and became, simultaneously, a discursive frame for arguing colonial difference. The article argues that even as railway spaces were meant to be moulded to the strict norms of female seclusion, the demands of profitability ensured that – in practice – most Indian women travelled in accommodation similar to that provided for women in other parts of the world. This disjunction between theory and practice did not dim the discursive correlation between female seclusion in railways and respectability. Neither did it undercut a masculine logic that used the security of Indian women passengers to negotiate racial politics in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century India. Thus, while women became increasingly visible as railway passengers in colonial India, they remained virtually invisible as interlocutors, even when the conversation about their safety and security during railway travel increasingly occupied the public domain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The nineteenth century was a very significant period In the history of modern India. It was during this period that the country witnessed the emergence of many intellectual currents in all aspects: religious, social, political, economic and cultural. For the colonial power, by the beginning of the nineteenth century, the empire had more or less been won. The job was to keep it, and to use it for profit. Colonialism was not the result of mere Western superiority, but of the unleashing of overwhelming force backed by technology at minimal cost. Technological changes affected the timing and location of European conquests and thus determined the economic relations of colonialism. It made European expansion swift, thorough and cheap. The new ability of Europeans in the nineteenth century to conquer other territories arose from relatively few inventions like iron-hulled steam ships, improved firearms, telegraph, railways and so on. With these tools, Europeans brought about a shift in global relations. The current study seeks to find answers as to how various technological tools and projects were used by the British in the nineteenth century Bengal and whether the relocation of Western technologies on Indian soil was really successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Britain and the Government of India embarked on the campaign in Mesopotamia for several reasons. The discovery of oil in south Persia in 1901 resulted in the formation of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The oil produced from this company was supplied to the Royal Navy. Germany's plan to construct a railway from Constantinople to Baghdad and Basra send tremors at London and Delhi. Germany's attempt to operate behind the facade of Turkish and Persian intrigues threatened the Anglo-Persian Oil Company's pipeline at the island of Abadan, the oilfields and the refineries. Britain was afraid that the Germans might instigate the Arab tribes to revolt. Further, capture of Basra by a hostile power would threaten Britain's sea lines of communication between Egypt and India. Logistics to a great extent had determined the texture of campaign in Mesopotamia. The logistical aspect of the Mesopotamia campaign during the Great War is yet to be studied thoroughly. The issue of supplying the British and Indian units in Mesopotamia proved crucial in shaping the course of the campaign. The first half of the paper shows how the problems of maintaining the units accelerated the disaster at Kut in April 1916. And the next section highlights the organizational restructuring of the logistical affairs which enabled the British and the Indian authorities to maintain larger number of troops with greater effectiveness from late 1916 onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents the experiences of her father Leslie Nixon who lived in India during the partition in 1947. Nixon hailed from a Anglo-Indian railway family and served for Gurkha rifle regiment. Information on Nixon's native place Bhusawal in Maharashtra, the British rule and the train massacres after partition are presented. The author mentions of the interest generated to investigate the family history and of her sense of relatedness to India.