Passenger Amenities of Indian Railways: A Study of Guntur Division of South Central Railway

Abstract

Railway organisations worldwide have traditionally evolved as vertically integrated transport operating enterpris~s under public ownership a!1d control, to the extent that they have been sheltered from competition by government regulatory controls, they have been abhi to grow to dominant positions in the domestic transportation activity of many countries. However, over the past two decades, rail dominance of do~estic transport has been challenged by the dynamic growth of road networks and of commercial motor vehicles. This growth has been assisted by the commitment of a major and increasing share of public infrastructure development funds to the development of highway networks. Public support of road transport the expense of rail transport development has usually been justified on the basis of the greater flexibility of the road transport mode. Competition from this source camlot therefore be expected to reduce its intensity for the foreseeable future, and will only be effectively counteracted if rail can offer a standard service which at the same time satisfies the needs of customers and is superior to that of its competitors. Clearly this poses rail with a substantial chailenge. It will require a major change in the outlook of railway managements and in the culture of railway organisations. Henceforth, the activities of railway  managements will have to be directed at: identifying, understanding and responding to the needs of their existing and potential customers; identifying and understanding the cost causation and profit potential associated with individual traffics or market segments; and bringing about the organisational change which will ensure that railways will satisfy new commercial goals.