Indian Railways IT Interface. Infrastructure Development and Financing Course

Transcription

1 A Report Presented to Prof G Raghuram Prof Rekha Jain Prof Sebastian Morris In Partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirements of the Infrastructure Development and Financing Course On August 24, 2001 By Abhishek Kumar Amit Gadgil Ananta Satapathy Rajesh Upadhyayula Sandeep Prabhudesai Group 3 Section B

2 Executive Summary This report focuses on various aspects of Indian Railways and Information Technology (IT) interface. Our project has three objectives viz. to examine the Railway and IT interface from the perspective of Railways, to identify uses of IT for improving effectiveness and efficiency of Railways and to evaluate issues pertaining to railways developing and offering IT infrastructure for public use. We have covered in this report the history of IT interface, various developments in Railway IT interface till date. We have studied the various uses of IT in railways like PRS, IMPRESS, CONCERT, FOIS and CRIS. We have also covered the RailNet, it s objectives, various phases of implementation, utility of RailNet and various issues in RailNet. In the next part of the report, we have studied the RailTel, the corporation formed for implementation of OFC network for railways. We have focused on issues like need for Railtel, demand potential, estimated market share, investment required, debt equity options available, revenue model on the basis of one of these options, SWOT analysis for RailTel and competitor analysis. In the final part of this report, we have looked at the Railway IT interface across the globe that may be useful to identify the various uses of IT in Indian Railways.

3 Table of Contents Objectives Of The Project 1 History Of IT Interface 1 Need For IT In Railways 2 Background Of IT In Railways 2 Earlier Developments 3 Computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) 4 Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) 7 Center for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) 9 Need For CRIS 10 RAILNET 10 Tools Provided By Railnet 11 Objectives 11 Architecture 12 Problems With Transfer Of Messages & Files 12 Phases Of Railnet 12 Phase - I (Completed) 12 Phase - II (Tender to be finalized shortly) 13 Phase III (Sanctioned) 14 Utility Of Railnet 15 Hardware Components (Phase-I) 16 Software Components (Phase-I) 17 Internet Access 17 Strengths 17 Limitations 17 Remedies 18 Future Scope 18 Issues In Railnet 18 Introduction 21 Communication Requirements for Railways 21 Current Status of Railways communication network 22 Potential 22 Creation of Railtel 23

4 Objectives of Railtel 23 Demand Potential 23 Estimated Sector Sizes 24 Bandwidth Demand 25 Technical Plan for Network Deployment 25 Introduction 25 ISP/NLDO Business 26 Estimated Market Share 26 Railways Asset Contribution 26 Asset Contribution Breakup 27 Investment 27 Business Financials and Revenue Model for Railtel 28 Implementation Plan 29 Synergy with Railways 30 Possible Synergies with PSUs of the Department of Telecommunication 30 Competitor Analysis 30 Facilities Assessment 31 Existing OFC Infrastructure 31 Planned Facilities 31 Right of Way (RoW) 32 Main Competitors 32 Department of Telecommunications 32 Power Grid Corporation of India Limited 33 Gas Authority of India Limited 36 Cellular Operators 38 Private Basic Services Operators 39 Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) 40 SWOT Analysis of RailTel 40 Railway-IT Interface around the Globe 42 South and East Africa 42 East Japan Railway Company (JR East) 43 European Train Control System (ETCS) 48 Appendix 1 53 Appendix 2 54 Appendix 3 55

5 Appendix 4 56 Bibliography 62

6 Objectives Of The Project?? To examine the Railway and IT interface from the perspective of Railways?? Identifying uses of IT for improving effectiveness and efficiency of Railways?? To evaluate issues pertaining to railways developing and offering IT infrastructure for public use History Of IT Interface 60 s?? A dedicated skeletal communication network was developed by IR, as a basic requirement for train operation?? Plan to progressively computerize railways working was accepted in principle by Management and Labor Unions 70 s?? Pay-rolls, Inventory control and Operating statistics?? Deployment of Computers for productivity improvement through building up operational data bases 80 s?? Computerization of Passenger Reservation Arrangement?? Developing a Freight Operations Information System?? Replacing the existing Computers at the Zonal Railways?? Production Units with the State-of-the-art Computer systems?? Provision of Computers at Divisions, New Production units, Work-shops, Sheds and Depots and Training Institutes?? Quantum improvement in the use of Computers in the offices 90 s?? Enterprise wide Computer system?? IT Applications for Passenger Business Area - 1 -

7 Need For IT In Railways Transportation Industries such as Railways operate in a dynamic and constantly changing environment. This requires a continuous update of information about current status and location of these assets. The optimum utilization of material resources, which they deploy, would require collection and collation of accurate data on their current utilization and an inventive analysis of the information collected. Information Resource is a critical managerial tool for confronting and tackling the business challenges on a real time basis. Transportation industries are also service industries and they thrive and flourish on Information - rich soil that provides them the vitally needed link to their customers and other major stakeholders. Railways being multi-locational, multi-functional and multi-divisional organization provide an ideal backdrop for Computer Networks, which can allow sharing of resources across the Corporation and information with their customers. Railway Industry, being an age-old industry, finds many of its existing business and operational practices inadequate for adjusting in the current fast changing business environment. Unless, Railways also develop capabilities to harness information resources through the use of exploding information technology, as other industries are doing, its continued presence as a viable industry in future may become a question mark. On the contrary, if the railway system can exploit Information Technology to modernize their operations and practices to suit the needs of their customers, they can gain tremendous competitive advantage in the present and future business environment. Background Of IT In Railways Indian Railways (IR) is the principal mode of transport in the country. IR today has 62,660 route km of rail track. The total investment on IR has been Rs billion. Last year, IR moved million tonnes of freight, generating a traffic output of 272 billion tonne kms. At the same time the system carried 4,068 million passengers generating a traffic output of 339 billion passenger kms. This output was produced with the help of over 7,000 locomotives and 300,000 wagons. The efficiency index of Wagon utilization measured in terms of net tonne kms per wagon per day stood at 1,780, which is one of the - 2 -

8 highest in the World. IR's network has 7,050 Railway Stations and its employees number a little over 1.6 million - making it the largest single employer in India. Over the last four and half decades, the freight transport has increased by about 5.75 times and passenger output by about 4.2 times. The growth in traffic output has not been evenly matched by the growth in inputs in the form of track and rolling stock. The high density has been further accentuated by the imbalance of the traffic flows. The BG routes though forming 63.2% of the route, carry 95% of freight traffic and 89% of passenger traffic of IR. Among the BG routes, the six corridors connecting the four major metropolises of Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi and Chennai and the two diagonals comprising 15.8% of total network carry in excess of 56% of the total freight transport output and 47% of passenger traffic, thereby causing serious congestion on the golden quadrilateral. The perennial constraint of resources has adversely affected Railway's development resulting in diversion of traffic from rail to road at an overall higher cost to the economy. Currently, Railways carry only 40% and 15% of the overall freight and passenger traffic respectively. Rapid growth in the demand for bulk transport has compelled the railways to evolve operating strategies and technology for running unit trains to match this demand. The emphasis of the railways on running of unit trains is denying the use of cost effective rail transport to a large number of smaller volume customers and this has been hastening the decline of market share on the part of Railways. Indian Railways have reached today a significant phase and are at a threshold of an uncertain future. IR will be required to make necessary competitive adjustments to deal with the pressures of market forces in a liberalized economic environment, not only to remain financially viable, but to be able to satisfy the growth in demand for rail transport. As Railways stare into the dark-tunnels, the only source that can probably shed the light to carry it - blazing into the future is the Information Technology tool, which many successful organizations are using to their profit. Earlier Developments Realizing the important role that information plays in Railways operations, IR had embarked on its Computerization Program, earlier than many other organizations in the country. Towards the end of 60's, two positive developments took place in Indian - 3 -

9 Railways. Firstly, even though, computerization was perceived by many as a labor saving measure, IR could realize its potential advantage and the plan to progressively computerize Railways was accepted in principle by Management and the Labor Unions. Secondly, a dedicated skeletal communication network was developed by IR, as a basic requirement for train operation, even though the future development of the merger of computers and communication to give birth to Information Technology was not actually visualized at that time. After the early introduction of regular flavor computer applications such as Pay rolls, Inventory control and Operating statistics, Railways were poised in the mid 70's for deployment of computers for productivity improvement through building up operational databases. However, certain administrative issues and political development came in the way of bringing about any further developments in the field of computerization. The period between mid 70's to early 80's were however utilized by IR to develop a blue print for further computerization. During the beginning of the 80's IR decided on?? Computerization of the Passenger Reservation Arrangement.?? Developing a Freight Operations Information System.?? Replacing the existing Computers at the Zonal Railways and Production Units with the State-of-the-art Computer systems enabling the organization to computerize more applications and increasing the volume of users.?? Provision of Computers at Divisions, New Production units, Workshops, Sheds and Depots and Training Institutes.?? Quantum improvement in the use of Computers in the offices. In the last 10 years, IR has made significant progress in Computerization. Out of these developments, we shall examine some of the systems that are currently being used/developed on IR. Computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) Out of the total passengers carried by IR, inter-city passengers constitute a mere 9% of the total volume. But, this small proportion, out of the total, generated 176 billion passenger-km out of a total of 341 billion passenger-km, about 52% of the total. They also bring in a revenue of Rs billion in a total passenger revenue of Rs. 60 billion, - 4 -

10 constituting roughly 72% of the total. It is a matter of comfort for IR that this market segment is a well-patronized one and in order to meet the situation of demand over running supply, the customers have been provided with the facility of making their reservation on these trains, 30 days in advance. The seats/berths reservation system on trains is a fairly complex activity, not only because of volume involving more than 600,000 seats/berths reservations per day, but also because of seven different categories of trains operating, using 72 types of coaches with seven classes of reservation, more than 40 types of quotas and more than 80 kinds of concessional tickets. The method of calculation of fare is also quite complex as charges are based on the distance, comfort level provided and the transit time. Because of this complexity and sheer volume involved, IR undertook management of Reservation work through computers. A pilot project consisting of a few popular trains implemented at New Delhi in November 1985 came out successful and was well received by the customers. By May 1987, the entire New Delhi Reservation Load was computerized. The stand-alone VAX Computer Systems were further implemented at remaining three metropolitan cities, namely, Mumbai (June '87), Calcutta (July '87) and Chennai (October '87) and they account for over 40% of reservation volume. The last stand-alone Cyber Computer System was implemented at Secunderabad (July '89), which was subsequently replaced by VAX computer system (Jan '95). Many other stations having advance reservation arrangements were connected as remote terminals to the existing five computer systems for accessing the entire database of the host computer. In the computerized system, IR decided that technical and service considerations would be used to determine the host to which a station would be linked up. To improve the service levels further, by providing better access to customers, remote terminals from the host computers are also being provided at satellite locations in the Metropolitan cities. In some major cities, satellite terminals from five host computer systems were also provided, thus allowing customers access to reservation databases residing there. A teleprinter interface to PRS called AUTOMEX, is also in place to enable those stations which are not connected by remote terminals, to access the reservation database

11 The Passenger Reservation System Software is given the name Integrated Multi-train Passenger REServation System (IMPRESS) and consists of roughly 2,700 Sub routines. Developed through 30 man years of programming effort in the language of FORTRAN, the software functions as an integrated system of four main modules, which handle the functional requirements of Reservation, Enquiry, Accounting and Charting. The system has full scale back up and recovery facilities. The entire computerized PRS system, thus, functions as five stand-alone systems. The stand-alone architecture does not allow reservation at a terminal from databases in two different host computers. The provision of remote terminals at major stations from more than one host computer partially takes care of this, though the customer has to stand in two or more queues. IR now plans to inter-link the five host computers using networking software and distributed transaction processing. This will provide access to databases in all the five host computers at any terminal in the country. The entire system can then cover almost all reservation quotas on IR, with the databases distributed over five computer locations, providing reservation access all over the country. As a first major step towards the goal of single image passenger reservation system, the first prototype of PRS Networking Software, CONCERT (COuntrywide Network of Computerized Enhanced ReservaTion) using FORTRAN (30%) and C (70%) languages was implemented at Secunderabad in January '95. CONCERT is written, keeping in mind the Client-Server architecture of Computer System to achieve easy hardware expansionability in future. Its message routing feature for WAN (Wide Area Network) implementation is achieved through RTR software and Router hardware, connected directly to an ethernet backbone. As a first phase of CONCERT implementation, the IMPRESS software version at the two stand-alone PRS systems at Secunderabad and New Delhi has been replaced with CONCERT and work is in progress for networking these two systems, using 64 kbps channels. The network application modules, once successfully completed, are expected to get extended to PRS at Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai. After the full-scale implementation, the requirement of communication channels will come down, as there will be no need for extending circuits for connecting remote terminals to particular PRS location only, in view of every terminal - 6 -

12 becoming universal. CONCERT will also add multiple lap functionality resulting in better customer service. Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) The market share of IR in the total freight traffic carried in the country has been declining in the last 20 years mainly due to the inability of IR to carry all the traffic offered to it. This inability arises from the fact that the railways have been consistently facing severe shortage of Rolling Stock for carrying all traffic and serious constraints in line capacity for moving the traffic. While considerable inputs are needed for augmenting the capacity of rolling stock as well as line capacity, the optimum utilization of existing resources is considered more imperative for carrying additional volume of traffic. It is of common knowledge that railway systems all over the world have profitably used computerization for improving the utilization of rolling stock assets of their systems. Realizing the significant contribution that computerization can make in improving the utilization of rolling stock assets, Indian Railways have been planning from the early stages for the introduction of use of computers in the freight operations. In the early 70's the advance transmission of CONSIST from marshalling yard to marshalling yard was attempted but the inherent limitations of the hardware available at that time and the nonavailability of reliable communication lines thwarted the early attempts. The administrative issues and political developments which were responsible for stagnancy in the area of computerization during late 70's also played a major part in delaying further introduction of computers in freight operations. Ultimately, Indian Railways decided in 1986 to go in for an integrated computer communication system called Freight Operation Information System (FOIS) with an objective to computerize the information relating to all operational activities and monitor the performance of all activity centers connected with freight traffic management. FOIS will maintain data banks of all fixed and rolling stock assets of the IR with their characteristic features, to help proper evaluation and optimization of their use. All the data will be captured dynamically, as an event is happening. Such data banks will be used to improve the quality of decision making and for producing management information - 7 -

13 reports on all aspects of freight operations, without the need to collect past data, every time. For this, FOIS will have many sub-systems for handling individual activities. It was anticipated that the introduction of FOIS would bring about a minimum of 10% improvement in Wagon utilization and 5% improvement in Locomotive utilization. The FOIS architecture is two tier, with a central system at Railway Board level, processing all identified core functions relating to moving assets and Zonal Systems at 5 locations processing all local functions carried out at Activity Reporting Centers such as Goods Sheds and Sidings, Transhipment Points, Yards, Stations, Interchange Points, Wagon Repair Depots, Locomotive Sheds, Fuelling Points, Crew Changing Points, Carriage & Wagon Workshops, Locomotive Workshops etc. While the central computer system is located in New Delhi, the five Zonal Computer Systems are located at New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and Secunderabad. For implementing FOIS, after surveying the similar technologies available in world railways, it was decided to import software from Canadian National Railroad for the data processing at the central computer. This software called TRACS (Traffic Reporting and Control System) ran on IBM compatible machines and had been implemented earlier in Southern Pacific Railroad, Canadian National Railroad and British Rail. The Central System handles the core functions like control of wagon movement, control of train movement, locomotive movement, scheduling and routing of traffic, empty wagon distribution, container traffic, safety management, marketing applications, total system performance statistics, corporate planning etc. The Zonal Systems handle distributed field functions like yard management, local area management (inclusive of Goods sheds, Transhipment sheds, Invoice preparation and invoicing), maintenance and repairs of wagons and locomotives, crew management, fuel management, safety management, statistical (query based, scheduled, off-line and message) reports, accounting, billing, costing and apportioning of revenue among the Zonal Railways etc. The assessment of the cost of FOIS Project has ranged from Rs.2.1 billion (1979) to Rs.5 billion (1982), to Rs.17 billion (1986). The cost has since been revised down to Rs.11 billion in 1988, at 1986 prices. The major reason for cost fluctuations were the uncertainty over creation of supporting communication infrastructure to cater the need of - 8 -

14 reliable and speedy computer communication across the length and breadth of IR, spanning all over India. Presently, a pilot project is under implementation on Northern Railway using Central and Zonal Computer Systems installed at New Delhi. On the basis of the experience gained from the field trial, FOIS network will be expanded in future. This, however, will need a strong organizational will at all levels to accept the project, quicker decision making at every stage of project implementation and availability of adequate funds, in time. The traditional method of "Repetitive and periodic reporting" being followed at present by Indian Railways for train operation is unable now to cope up with the ever increasing demand of public transport coupled together with increase in speed and safety standards. To reap the benefit of explosion in IT worldwide and also to take the advantage of liberalized policy of Government of India towards Information Technology, Indian Railways have establish a Corporate Wide Information System (CWIS) between Railway Board, Zonal Railways Head Quarters, Production Units and Centralized Training Institutes, etc. called as ""RAILNET". It will be able to provide smooth flow of Information on demand for administrative purposes from the important operational locations up to top level and vice-versa, which will help in taking quicker and better decisions. Center for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) In 1986, the Ministry of Railways established CRIS to be an umbrella for all computer activities on Indian Railways. They also entrusted it with the task of design, development and implementation of FOIS, along with its associated communications infrastructure. The Center started functioning from July It is an autonomous organization headed by the Managing Director. CRIS is mainly a project-oriented organization engaged in development of major computer systems on the Railways. CRIS has acquired special knowledge and expertise in the field of informatics. With such a rich practical experience, a dedicated team of professionals and its own R&D effort, CRIS aims to be a leader in this fast developing field

15 Need For CRIS Indian Railways IT Interface A separate organization was considered better suited to take up all computer activities on IR mainly for the following reasons:?? To avoid duplication of efforts by individual Railways.?? To ensure standardization of computer hardware and software on the Railways.?? To undertake design and development of major applications on Railways requiring higher levels of expertise, faster decision making and system wide applicability.?? To insulate the organization from day to day working of the Railways so that its objectives are not lost sight of.?? Need for a combined effort of Railways and Computer Specialists, considered best suited for the development of the computer applications on Railways.?? Need for development of expertise in highly specialized fields like Operation Research, Simulation, Expert System, CAD/CAM, Process Control etc.?? Need for greater flexibility to keep pace with the fast changing technology. RAILNET RAILNET has the potential for transfer of messages, files, s between the important locations on Indian Railways. In addition, the internal web site in Railway Board and Zonal Railways Headquarters supports codes, manual procedure orders, policy directives and other important information for day-do-day use by various officials. Detailed estimate amounting to Rs.7.81 crore for the work of RAILNET was sanctioned in Nov. 98 by the Railway Board. The structure of RAILNET is as under:

16 RAILNET will provide computer connectivity between Railway Board and Zonal Railways, Production Units, Centralized Training Institutes, RDSO, CORE, MTP/Calcutta & 46 Major Training Institutes. Tools Provided By Railnet?? ?? EDI?? WWW?? Telnet?? FTP Objectives?? Eliminate the need to move paper documents between different offices?? Change from Periodic Reporting to Information on Demand

17 ?? Expedite & facilitate quick & efficient automatic status update between Railway Board & Zonal Railways Architecture?? To have internet access at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata.?? Capability to monitor & control usage of RAILNET & Internet.?? Expedite & facilitate quick & efficient automatic status updates between Railway Board Zonal Railways. Problems With Transfer Of Messages & Files?? Manual system of transfer of messages & files are time consuming & unbelievably slow.?? Sometime the messages are illegible (due to poor photocopy quality or poor hand writing)?? The messages sometimes do not reach the concerned person.?? Sender is not sure whether the message has reached the correct person. Phases Of Railnet Phase - I (Completed) This consisted of interconnecting LANS at the following locations:?? Railway Board?? Existing Zonal Railway Headquarters?? Production Units?? Clw / Chittaranjan?? Dcw / Patiala?? Dlw / Varanasi?? Icf / Perambur?? Rcf / Kapurthala?? W & Ap/ Bangalore

18 The contract for Phase-I was awarded to M/s Tata Infotech Limited. The scope of work included Supply,Installation,Testing and Commissioning of Servers, Routers, Centralized Switches, Modems etc. including Internet/Intranet software. The work has been completed except for NFR, DLW and DCW because of non-availability of site/connectivity. Phase - II (Tender to be finalized shortly) This consists of interconnecting LANS at the following locations:?? New zones (6 nos.)?? Rdso / Lucknow?? Core, Allahabad?? Mtp, Calcutta?? Centralized training institutes?? Rsc/ Vadodara?? Irieen / Nasik?? Irimee / Jamalpur?? Iriset / Secunderabad?? Iricen / Pune

19 This phase will also consist of the following centers to facilitate interconnections:?? Major training centres (46)?? Zonal training centres (9)?? Supervisor training centres(9)?? S&T training centres (9)?? Electrical training centres (9)?? Civil training centres (9)?? RPF training centre (1)?? All divisional HQs (yet to be sanctioned) Phase III (Sanctioned) This phase will interconnecting LANS at the following locations:?? All Sub Division Hqs(Aen/Hq Etc.)?? Workshops?? Mechnical?? Loco?? C&W

20 ?? S&T?? Engg/Bridge?? Stores Depots Indian Railways IT Interface?? Major Stations (I.E. Cat A stations)?? Passenger Complaint Centres Utility Of Railnet?? Railnet users can exchange mail?? Commercial Deptt. is extensively using Railnet for their Complaint Centres applications?? Railways have launched their web pages?? Authorised users can access the internet through Railnet either in LAN or through Remote Dial-up on Rly. Telephone.?? Defined users in the LAN can share their resources

21 Hardware Components (Phase-I)?? Compaq Servers?? CISCO Routers, Switches & Hubs?? Structured cabling using AMP Net Connect Components o UTP-Cat 5 cabling (10 Mbps) o Maximum distance permissible 100 meters between?? Nodes and Hubs?? Hubs & switches?? Switches & Server/Router

22 Software Components (Phase-I)?? MS Windows NT Server?? MS Windows NT Workstation 4.0?? Internet Information Server 3.0?? Front Page Express 98?? Lotus Nodes Clients 4.6?? Cisco Works with SNMPC?? Cisco Pix Firewall?? NMS Internet Access Internet Access (128 Kbps) has been provided in Delhi & Mumbai, which will enable the authorised Railnet users to?? Exchange . The Railnet user will have the same address for Internet also.?? Browse the World Wide Web Strengths?? Uses Internet Technology, hence scaleable from PC-LAN-WAN-Internet.?? Universal browser Interface gives Single Viewing Window.?? Freedom of Choice enables it to be implemented on dissimilar systems.?? Saving Money.?? Reduced Development Time.?? Performance?? Improved Business Processes. Limitations?? Security, End-user Acceptance?? Network Security - Major Concern

23 ?? Possible Hazards Remedies Indian Railways IT Interface Downloading classified information Disable network Corrupt data Introduce virus etc.?? User authentication- Password?? Virus scanner?? Internet access at Delhi & Mumbai provided through Firewall?? Use of licensed and authentic software Future Scope Railnet can also be used for?? Voice Communication?? Video Communication?? Video Conferencing Voice over Railnet was sucessfully demonstrated during a General Managers conference in Rail Bhawan. Video conferencing over Railnet was successfully demonstrated between the Minister for Railways, Chairman & members of the Railway Board and General Manage, Mumbai on Issues In Railnet?? Accessibility of Contents of Web Pages?? Internet users?? Railnet users: Unrestricted; Restricted?? Development, Design & Maintenance?? Inhouse?? Through External agency?? Coordinated efforts o Similarity

24 o Compatibility o Compilation?? Various Applications?? Quasi Static o Codes?? Dynamic o Manuals o Gazettes?? Punctuality o Various Status o Seniority List?? Logging of Trains?? Progress of works?? Training Schedules/Nominations etc?? Work Flow?? Internet Access?? Uniform Policy?? Level of Eligibility?? Time Limit?? Security - Firewall?? Bandwidth Constraint o 128 K - Rs. 8.7 Lacs o 256 K - Rs Lacs o 2MB - Rs Lacs?? Maintenance?? Proper Strategy for O&M?? Data Links - Including timely payment of DOT leased circuits?? Man power - Redeployment and Training?? Computer Hardware?? System and Application Software?? General

25 ?? PC s, Ethernet Card, Modem?? Sufficient no. of Dial-Up Ports?? Railnet Connectivity - On Demand?? Training of Maximum S&T Personnel?? Increase usage by putting more & more applications

26 Railtel Corporation of India Limited Introduction Railways have various communication needs. It is very important for railways to have a reliable communication system since it is essential for efficient and safe operations of trains. As such, formation of Broadband Telecom and Multimedia Corporation was considered by Ministry of Railways. The Corporation registered as Railtel Corporation of India Limited was incorporated in September Communication Requirements for Railways Railways have various communication requirements as follows: 1. The primary requirement is for control and block communication. Control communication is required for monitoring from central control office; the running of trains on a section of 200 to 300 Km. The central control office is connected to all the stations. Block communication is necessary for safe movement of trains from one station to the next. 2. Administrative communication requirements that include:?? Connecting divisional headquarters with important stations?? Connecting Zonal headquarters with the divisions?? Connecting Railway Board with Zones?? Emergency communication for crew of disabled train to talk to section controllers 3. Use of communication channels for data transmission for:?? Passenger Reservation System?? Freight Operation Information System?? Management Information System?? Passenger Information System?? Railnet

27 Thus, as can be seen from above, it is very essential for Railways to have an efficient communication system. Since DOT was unable to meet the stringent requirements of Railways communication, Railways have started developing their own communication network. Current Status of Railways communication network At present Railways have obsolete and over aged communication systems like overhead alignment, analog microwave, and underground copper cables. Now, these systems are being replaced by Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) and digital microwave. Further, OFCs are to be provided in lieu of overhead alignment on sections that are being electrified (as OFC is not affected by the electro static and electro magnetic interference caused by 25 KV electrified lines). Railways are now providing for Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) transmission equipment. This system creates a minimum bandwidth of 155 mbps whereas; railways are using only 2 mbps at wayside stations. Further, analog microwave links of 120 channels are being replaced by digital microwave links that have 34 mbps system (480 channels). Thus, it can be seen that OFC and digital microwave links have resulted in generation of surplus telecom capacity at railway stations as well as at major junctions. However, this excess capacity is being unutilized at present. Potential Railways have uninterrupted Right of Way (ROW) along 62,800 Route Km of railway track passing through 7000 stations. Further, the stations at major cities are located in the central business districts (CBDs). OFC is a preferred transmission media for data and voice over long distance. Right of Way is critical for laying OFC and hence railways are ideally suitable for laying of OFC for creating nationwide network. Considering these factors and the resource crunch that Railways is facing, it has been decided by Railways to use surplus telecom capacity and ROW to build nationwide OFC based broadband telecom and multimedia network

28 Creation of Railtel Indian Railways IT Interface Railway Budget provided for implementation of this plan through a separate professionally managed corporation viz. Railtel Corporation of India Limited (RCIL). RCIL is set up as a 100% PSU and is registered with the Registrar of Companies under the Companies Act, Objectives of Railtel Following are the main objectives of Railtel Corporation 1. To modernize railways train control, operational and safety systems and networks. 2. To create a nationwide broadband telecom and multimedia network to supplement national telecom infrastructure to spur growth of telecom internet and IT enabled value services in all parts of the country specially rural, remote and backward areas. 3. To generate the revenues needed for implementing Railway s developmental projects, safety enhancement and asset replacement programs. 4. To significantly contribute to realization of goals and objectives of National Telecom Policy, Demand Potential Nature of demand: Demand in long distance telecom market is geographically dispersed. Demand for long distance voice and data traffic is expected to grow on account of the following reasons:?? Increase in number of telephone subscribers - both fixed and mobile?? Additional facilities like internet, WAP being provided to mobile users will lead to an increase in the demand for bandwidth?? Opening of domestic long distance traffic for competition and reduction in long distance tariffs?? Increase in data traffic due to rise in internet subscribers and due to value added services like video conferencing etc

29 TRAI and CRIS INFAC study Cumulative annual growth rate of 11% in 5 years from was observed with total long distance communication traffic estimated at Rs.12,000 Crores. As per independent rating agency CRIS INFAC: CAGR of 14% for voice traffic for Domestic Long Distance (DLD) market. Market size for voice and fax traffic is estimated to be Rs.20,400 Crores by Following tables show the estimated growth in various sectors: Estimated Sector Sizes TRAI Study: Long distance voice Communication traffic CRIS INFAC: DLD market for voice traffic ISP/data services market 1 CAGR Estimated Size (Rs. Crores) 11% in last 5 years 12,000 14% 20,400 (by ) 67% in next 5 years 5,891 (by 2005) - Internet access market - Virtual Private Network - Corporate leased lines National inter circle long distance voice market 75% with no. of Internet 5,392 users to increase from 1.7 to 18 million 37% in next 5 years % in next 5 years % 5,508 (by 2005) 1 Consultant s estimates

30 Bandwidth Demand Indian Railways IT Interface CAGR (Gbps) 2005 (Gbps) 2000 (Rs. Crores) 2005 (Rs. Crores) Total Market 59% ,145 ISP 116% ,284 NLDO 28% 4 13 Basic intra circle Demand 17% Cellular 52% Technical Plan for Network Deployment Introduction Out of the 155 MBPS bandwidth available, Railways will require 2 8 MBPS and the remaining capacity will be utilized for providing Internet, STD/ISD services or other purposes at rural and remote areas. Under this plan, RCIL will initially provide bandwidth to the service providers as following:?? Phase 1: A network connecting the four metros and four other important cities, viz. Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore will be implemented (10,020 Route Km)?? Phase 2 4: 25,323 Route Km will be covered in the space of seven years3?? Out of the above, 4,899 Route Km OFC has been laid, 15,163 Route Km is Work In Progress 2 For the period Refer Appendix

31 ISP/NLDO Business Indian Railways IT Interface?? To fulfill the roll out obligation of National Long Distance Operations (NLDO), RCIL has to establish Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) network on 38,000 Route Km 35,000 Route Km along the railway tracks (covering 287 out of the 325 Long Distance Charging Areas (LDCAs)) and the remaining 3,000 Route Km on those Right of Way (ROW) where it is currently not available with the railways?? Presently, RCIL plans to lay OFC along 33,000 Route Km only. The remaining LDCAs will be covered by providing wireless/leasing bandwidth?? If the communication is extremely poor in certain sections, RCIL will provide the OFC. However, this will be provided by the corporation and the rentals will be provided by the Railways on cost plus basis Estimated Market Share Segment Market Share Revenue (Rs. Crores) Backbone Bandwidth Sale - ISP - Basic/ NLDO operators - Cellular Services - Corporate Leased Line 19% 20% 7.8% 30% 13% ISP/Data Services 9.1% (by 2005) 538 Long Distance Voice Services 9.4% (by 2005) 516 Internet Access Market 7.68% 417 Corporate Virtual Private Network 24% 67 Leased Lines 25% 54 Railways Asset Contribution?? Leasing of ROW will be done. Microwave stations, land and building use will also be leased to the corporation

32 ?? The valuation of this lease/transfer of assets by the Railways, the Konkan Railway Corporation and IRCON International Limited (which has OFC network along the Ahmedabad Vadodara Surat section) is at Rs. 606 Crores. The decision on whether this contribution by the two corporations will be a part of their equity in RCIL or it will be the Railway s equity alone with compensation to KRCL and IRCON is to be taken Asset Contribution Breakup Right of Way 375 Optical Fiber Cable 108 Work In Progress 60 Land/ Building 47 Microwave Capacity and Infrastructure 16 Investment Rs. (Crores) The total investment required for the proposed 33,000 Route Km of OFC is Rs. 3,461 Crores. However, RCIL intends to adopt the Smart Build Approach wherein another company will be laying the OFC along the railway track using Railway s ROW in return for the dark fibers to RCIL and thus reducing the cost of building of the network. Though this introduces another competitor, RCIL hoped to market its telecom products better due to its reduced network creation cost. With this, RCIL hopes to reduced its investment to Rs Crores and the required year wise investment is as follows: Year Investment RCIL will lay 15,000 Route Km OFC initially on its own and then employ the Smart Build Approach. This may put in an additional expenditure of Rs. 182 Crores, which should be partially offset by a reduction in the cost of electronic equipment

33 Initially, Railways will hold 100% equity, which will be reduced to 51% in the short term. As Railways are transferring their rights and assets worth Rs. 606 Crores, part of this value of assets will form Railway s equity and the remaining will be debt. Following are the three options of the debt equity ratio that have been considered by Railways:?? Option 1: Out of assets worth Rs. 606 crores transferred to Railtel, Rs. 350 Crores is kept as debt and the remaining Rs. 256 Crores is equity. Further the equity to the JV partner is issued at a premium of 1:2. Thus for issue of equity of Rs.150 Crores, Rs. 300 Crores will be the premium on equity. The requirement of bridge financing for paying back the debt to the Railways will be Rs. 350 Crores. The JV will be in favor of the Railways.?? Option 2: Rs. 150 Crores is kept as debt and the remaining Rs. 456 Crores is equity. Conservatively estimating the JV equity to be at par at Rs. 150 Crores, the need for bridge financing will be Rs. 150 Crores. The JV will be in favor of the Railways.?? Option 3: Entire Rs. 606 Crores is kept as equity. The bridge financing requirements will be zero no debt is being repaid to the Railways. JV partner(s) is expected to bring Rs. 150 Crores equity at par. The JV will be in favor of the Railways. After due deliberation and the following considerations, option 2 is considered as the best suitable: 1. In the initial stages, the expectation that the JV partner will be subscribing to the equity at a premium of 1:2 may not be achievable. As such, option 1 is not achievable. 2. If the promoters have less equity, the business proposition will not be considered attractive by the lenders. Business Financials and Revenue Model for Railtel

34 As seen above, the Option 2 is considered as the most suitable option. As such, the financial statements have been developed for Railtel considering this option. Following are the main features of the revenue model developed for Railtel 4.?? Revenues: Revenues to Railtel comprise of Wholesale Bandwidth sale revenues and Services Revenues. Wholesale Bandwidth sale revenues constitute revenues from sale of capacity for long distance voice, sale of capacity to ISPs, sale of capacity to Cellular operators and sale of capacity for corporate leased lines. Services revenues include revenues derived from services to NLDO, Corporate leased lines, Corporate VPN and revenue from retail ISP to corporates. Total Revenues for Railtel are expected to be crores in 2001 and are expected to grow to Rs crores in 2005 and to Rs.2372 crores in 2007.?? Profits: Railtel is expected to have negative EBITDA i.e. cash loss to the extent of Rs.39 crores in However, it is expected to have cash profit from 2002 onwards. EBITDA is expected to rise from Rs.298 crores in 2002 to Rs.1137 crores in 2005 and to Rs.1680 crores in Railtel is expected to suffer total loss to the extent of Rs.201 crores in It is expected to have Earnings after tax of Rs.53 crores in 2002 that are expected to increase to Rs.389 crores in 2005 and to Rs.779 crores in 2007.?? Net Present Value (NPV): The potential of RCIL in terms of NPV has been assessed at Rs. 2,775 Crores?? Return on equity: On the basis of revenue plan developed on the basis of option 2 as mentioned earlier, return on equity is expected to be 24% by Year Implementation Plan 1. The telecom assets and the ROW will be immediately transferred/leased to the Corporation 2. The Corporation will start completing the missing links for connecting the four metros viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as well as the four important cities viz. Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore. 4 For projected income statement of RailTel, refer Appendix

35 3. The Corporation will take IP II Licence immediately so as to sell the surplus capacity available on the existing OFC links, which will be transferred, to the Corporation. The surplus bandwidth on the microwave links will also be leased/rented to the service providers. This will be transferred to OFC in due course of time as and when commissioning takes place. 4. The Corporation will apply for NLDO licence as soon as Phase I is completed Synergy with Railways RCIL will be serving the communication needs of the Railways by modernizing Railways communication infrastructure. The availability of bandwidth on the railway stations will facilitate Railways in providing passenger amenities like information system, reservation through Internet, Internet and STD/ISD kiosks on stations, etc. Possible Synergies with PSUs of the Department of Telecommunication RCIL will have the right of way for creating nationwide optical fiber cable backbone for becoming a long distance operator. In case of a JV with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited or with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited there will be synergies between the infrastructure, technical know how and customer base of MTNL for basic services, VSNL for internet services and OFC based backbone of RCIL. Such a venture may also utilize the NLDO licence available with VSNL for providing long distance services. Competitor Analysis The following parameters will be utilized to evaluate the competition that RCIL may face in the future

36 Facilities Assessment The facilities for long distance communication are switches, transmission media and transmission systems. Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) offers advantages over other transmission media for DLD carriage. Technological developments are making it possible to create higher capacities over a single pair of fibers, resulting in connectivity acquiring greater significance than system capacities. Further, an entity requires Rights of Way (RoW), if it has to deploy OFC along a route. RoW is a critical asset since it entails costs and time spent on obtaining approvals from various authorities. Existing OFC Infrastructure At present, most of the DLD infrastructure in the country is with DoT, which has 76,000 Rkm of OFC in comparison to 3,000 Rkm with other agencies. The Railways have approximately 1,500 Rkm of OFC. Basic and cellular licensees have also established limited infrastructure in their circles, since they are allowed to carry long distance calls of their subscribers within their service areas. Further, there are certain organizations that use captive telecommunication networks, mainly for their internal operational purposes. Railways, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) and GAIL are principal among these. In comparison, the state-level infrastructure of private operators is tuned to telecom traffic requirements. Bharti Telenet Ltd (BTL), the basic operator in Madhya Pradesh, has around 1,700 Rkm within the state. Planned Facilities If plans of all the private network owners (including utilities and operators) fructify by 2003, alternative OFC network in the country will be around 70,000 Rkm. Meanwhile, as per its perspective plan, DoT plans to add 1,36,000 Rkm of OFC by NTP 99 permits usage of existing backbone networks of public and private power transmission companies, Railways, GAIL, ONGC and others immediately for national

37 long distance data communication and from January 1, 2000 for national long distance voice communications. Right of Way (RoW) Deployment of OFC requires access to space along the routes, since it is a terrestrial medium. OFC can be laid underground or strung along poles and either option requires access to ways along routes. DoT has the RoW due to the statutory authority granted to it by the Indian Telegraph Act. There are several other organizations with transmission and distribution networks such as Indian Railways (Railways), State Electricity Boards (SEBs) and, Ministry of Surface Transport (MOST), which have the RoWs by virtue of their existing networks. RoW represents an important asset, which the owner could either sell for a price or leverage to enter the telecom business. MOST charges private operators for deploying their cables along the National Highways. With organizations such as MOST charging Rs. 50,000 per km, access to RoW offer considerable cost advantages. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) is entering into an arrangement with SEBs to utilise their RoW for creating telecom transmission infrastructure. A few organizations have access to RoW and therefore are better placed to build facilities. Also the technological developments are leading to availability of much higher capacities on a single fiber. Main Competitors Department of Telecommunications DoT s long distance infrastructure is presented in the following table. DoT Infrastructure Transmission Systems Coaxial (Rkm) 28,439 29,287 30,526 30,957 30,

38 Microwave (Rkm) 40,347 43,730 48,697 51,753 54,597 72,592 UHF (Rkm) 28,716 33,808 39,177 49,301 62,670 Optical (Rkm) Fibre 9,960 16,891 23,333 36,639 52,439 76,261 Long distance Circuits (000s) DoT has stopped using coaxial in its LD infrastructure, and only OFC and Digital Microwave (DMW) is being used. The standard configuration of OFC deployed by DoT is 12 and 24 fibres. As per DoT Perspective Plan, the OFC deployment in the country is envisaged to double over the next five years. Capacities planned in long distance infrastructure during the plan period are indicated in the following table. Planned LD Capacities of DoT Facility Microwave (Rkms) 170, , ,054 Optical Fibre (Rkm) 123, , ,632 Power Grid Corporation of India Limited PGCIL operates over 31,000 Circuit kms of electricity transmission systems across the country, which offers 15,500 Rkm of RoW. Currently, the corporation does not have any optical fibre links, except the Itarsi- Jabalpur link. It has a low capacity (4 khz) dedicated Power Line Carrier Communication (PLCC) system for operational use. It also has a

39 VSAT based closed user group (CUG) network covering 14 sites in the northern regional grid for voice transmission and MIS. PGCIL is implementing a communication network to operate the proposed nation-wide Supervisory Control and Data Acqusition (SCADA) system under a Unified Load Despatch Scheme (ULDS). The scheme has been drawn up after consolidating the requirements of all the SEBs. Around 6,700 km of optical fibre and 7,800 km of digital microwave is planned for the SCADA requirements of PGCIL. The proposed network will utilise both PGCIL and SEBs RoW. PGCIL will manage the network for 15 years, during which period the SEBs will pay PGCIL a tariff for using the network. After 15 years, the infrastructure will be transferred to the respective SEBs. Details of the proposed facilities along with the system and spare capacities are given in the following tables. Planned Optical Fibre Infrastructure of PGCIL (for SCADA) Region Length (Km) No. of fibres Spare Fibres Transmission System Capacity Mbps Spare Capacity Capital Cost (in Rs. Cr.) Expected Date North 1, STM 1; 155 Mbps South 2,436 12/24 6/18 STM 1; 155 Mbps June June 2000 North East STM 1; 155 Mbps Dec 2001 East 1,143 12/24 6/18 16*2 Mbps June 2003 West *2 Mbps June 2003 TOTAL 6,

40 Planned Digital Microwave Infrastructure of PGCIL (for SCADA) Region Length (Km) Transmission System Capacity Spare Capacity Capital Cost (Rs. Cr.) Expected date North 2,590 4*2 Mbps NIL June 2000 South 944 4*2 Mbps NIL June 2000 North East 668 4*2 Mbps Dec 2001 East 1,975 4*2 Mbps NIL June 2003 West 1,643 4*2 Mbps NIL June 2003 TOTAL 7, The key features of the proposed plan, relevant for commercial utilisation include:?? PGCIL is planning a mix of DMW and OFC technology in its network. DMW is being used to complement the network and not as a supplement with 8 Mbps capacity. This implies that no spare capacity will be available for commercial utilization over DMW. OFC is only being planned for short distances of 200 to 400 km and will offer spare capacity.?? The stations and power plants are scattered over the country away from urbanized areas and potential users of the network. The proposed Railways network, on the other hand, passes through most of the major cities and towns making it more suitable for servicing the long distance user segment.?? The total length of OFC network planned by PGCIL in the North and South is likely to be in place by the end of Year 2000, in north-east by 2001 and in East and West by

41 Gas Authority of India Limited GAIL has an existing 2,000-km HBJ pipeline from Hazira in Gujarat to Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh (UP). This pipeline also passes through Vijaypur in Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Dadri in UP. Apart from this, GAIL is planning pipelines along the following routes:?? Loni (Delhi) Jamnagar via Jaipur, Ajmer?? Mangalore Bangalore Mysore Erode Madurai?? Hyderabad Vijaywada Vishakhapatnam HBJ pipeline services the industrial belt in the North and hence passes through locations where gas-based power and fertiliser plants are located. Since these plants are normally located away from major population concentrations, the GAIL spare telecom capacity does not cover major cities except Delhi. GAIL telecom network is well suited, however, to cater to the communication needs of major industries lying en route. Digital Microwave System links the HBJ route with existing capacity of 8 Mbps that can be enhanced to 16 Mbps. However, the existing HBJ pipeline has SDH-based OFC system only between Vijaypur and Delhi with a capacity of 8 Mbps, which can be enhanced to 34 Mbps. The OFC network of GAIL has 12 fibres of which six are required for the SCADA communication needs of GAIL. Besides the requirement for SCADA, GAIL has voice communication channels for administrative requirements that utilise the microwave network. GAIL s planned gas pipeline from Jamnagar to Loni covers major towns in Rajasthan and Gujarat. It will run parallel to the Railways route as well as the HBJ pipeline route, and will have a spare capacity of 14 STM-1 streams, much higher than the spare capacity in HBJ pipeline. Besides catering to the communication needs of the industries located enroute, it can carry long distance calls from major cities like Ajmer, Jaipur, Kandla and Jamnagar, which are along the pipeline. The planned network will have surplus capacity that can be leased out to other prospective users. The details of existing and planned infrastructure are presented in the following tables

42 Existing Telecommunications Infrastructure of GAIL System Description Existing Capacity Length (Km) Enhanced Capacity Spare Capacity Digital Microwave System; 1.5 GHz band; From Hazira Delhi OFC-based PDH Network From Vijaipur (MP) to Dadri (UP) near Delhi 8 Mbps 2, Mbps 4 8 Mbps Mbps 12 OFC-based System Communication 2 Mbps Mbps 15 Planned OFC Network of GAIL System Description Length (Km) Equipped Capacity Enhanced Capacity Spare Capacity OFC-based STM-16 1, Gbps 16 Nos. STM-1 14 STM-1 Network backbone; 3 tributaries. streams; From Jamnagar (Gujarat) STM E1 circuits; 6 fibres to Loni (near Delhi) tributaries; 189 E1 circuits; OFC-based network Vizag to Secunderabad OFC-based network Mangalore to Madurai Mbps 155 Mbps; 63 E1 circuits Mbps 155 Mbps; 63 E1 circuits 60 E1 60 E1-37 -

43 Cellular Operators Indian Railways IT Interface Cellular operators have around 9,788 Rkm of digital microwave network. They have indicated individual plans to lay OFC network in their service areas, which collectively totals 12,000 Rkm. Based on information provided by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), only RPG, Tata Cellular and Fascel have indicated 50 percent of their existing capacity as spare. Further, states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Kerala have two licensed operators while others have only one. All the operators have plans for installing OFC networks within their circles. The planned OFC infrastructure is given in the following table. Planned OFC Infrastructure of Cellular Operators S. No. Circle Operator Proposed (Rkm) 1 Maharashtra BPL US West 3,000 2 Gujarat Fascel 1,500 3 Andhra Pradesh Tata Cellular Kerala BPL US West 1,300 5 Madhya Pradesh RPG 1,000 6 Uttar Pradesh (E) Aircell Digilink 1,015 7 Haryana Aircell Digilink Tamil Nadu BPL US West 1,600 9 Rajasthan Aircell Digilink 1,295 Total 11,

44 Private Basic Services Operators At present, there are six licensed basic operators, of which only Bharti Telenet Ltd. (BTL) has a sizeable OFC network, with 1,717 km in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The other licensees have not as yet deployed DLD telecommunication networks. BTL s network has a spare capacity of two STM-4 streams. Planned capacity of these six operators is presented in the following table. These capacities are likely to materialise within two to three years. Private Basic Services Operators LD Infrastructure Organization Circle Future plans Spare Bandwidth Reliance Telecom Ltd. Gujarat 3,300 km OFC backbone Essar Comvision Ltd. Punjab 3,000 km of OFC backbone Hughes Ispat Ltd. Maharashtra Mix of OFC and microwave between Mumbai-Pune, Mumbai-Nasik, Pune- Kolhapur-Panjim NA Large but unable to quantify 4-16 E1 channels can be spared Shyam Telelink Ltd. Rajasthan 2,900 km of backbone Not Commented Tata Teleservices Ltd. Andhra Not firmed up yet Not Commented Pradesh Bharti Telenet Ltd. Madhya 1,700 Rkm existing 2 STM-4 streams Pradesh 1,355 Rkm under implementation

45 Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) The network resources of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) within India include six international gateways at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Jalandhar and Ernakulam. These gateways are connected through systems leased from DoT. OFC Infrastructure of VSNL Sector Type Capacity Mumbai Pune Arvi OFC 2, 140 Mbps system; expandable New Delhi Dehradun DMW NA SWOT Analysis of RailTel Strengths: 1. RailTel s main strength is the Right of Way that railways have. This RoW covers a very wide area and connects all the major cities in India. As such, Railways has advantage over its competitors like PGCIL, GAIL, basic cellular services operators in terms of the coverage. 2. Railways have considerable experience in handling the communication networks since it has been handling the communication and signal equipment for internal use. 3. RailTel has been established as a separate corporation under the Companies Act. As such, it has advantage of operating as a corporation separate from Railways. Weaknesses: Though railways have the experience of handling communication network, it does not have the prior experience of commercial handling of telecommunications network. Opportunities: RailTel has a good opportunity in terms of the projected growth in the market

46 Threats: 1. Technological obsolescence due to newer technologies evolving in OFC 2. Government Policies may not remain favorable

47 Railway-IT Interface around the Globe The study of railway-it interface in developed and undeveloped countries has great implications for the Indian railway industry. The knowledge about use of information technology in railway operations around the globe would help us improve our rail transportation and would enhance prompt commodity movements. Thus there is a great need to enhance and put into effect such information technology, adding that cooperation in unifying different national railway systems would be a valuable advance for the globalisation and liberalization processes. Three different systems have been studied here and they have very interesting applications that could be used in the Indian context. South and East Africa About the use of information technology in railway operations in South and East Africa, the Deputy Managing Director of TRANSNET, says the national railway operator of South Africa, SPOORNET, has developed a rail computer network from which all the countries of the region were benefiting. The southern railways operate a common rail system based on the "Cape gauge". About eleven southern and eastern African countries were linked and long-term strategies for those railways are in major flux, due to plans for restructuring, commercialisation, and privatisation. The boom in mining in Tanzania and Congo, economic growth in Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique, and increased global trade through the Indian Ocean have resulted in large volumes of rail-friendly traffic to and from inland destinations where road transport was often not viable. There are rail strategies aimed at providing reliable, cost-effective means of gaining a share of that traffic. Intermodal operation through alliances with road carriers to provide door-to-door service is also being pursued. Of late, there has been consensus that railways would not survive if they continued to take for granted their previous privileged status as national carriers. Diagnosis of the long-term future of the transport industry worldwide had indicated a slow but steady decline in the types of commodities, which had traditionally sustained railways. Effective responses to this included aggressive cost reduction, extending reach to value-added services beyond the railhead, and penetration

48 of growing markets for intermodal higher-value finished goods, with alliances playing a key role. Thus was proposed the introduction of a computer-network rail tracking technology system, in which an expeditor could trace the destination and full information on any merchandise until delivery. Such hour-by-hour inspection of commercial containers would enable exporters to assure the security of their merchandise and guarantee its prompt arrival. Likewise, the network was beneficial for goods transported by ships and transferred to rail or road carriers. The necessity of creating intermodal systems and the cost pressure behind the trend would require more rational rail transportation and transhipment. Intermodal systems need electronic media, globalisation of economic rules and information, and the removal of customs barriers. Rail transportation had been improved thanks to high technology introduced by such companies as Siemens and TSS. Such firms had built integrated systems providing solutions for locomotive transport and satellite guiding systems. New regulations by States had also promoted the creation and adoption of new technology. East Japan Railway Company (JR East) The utilization of information technology for innovations in railway operations and improvements in customer service has been one of the main driving forces behind the establishment of computer systems at JR East. In July 1987, under the direction of the company's first president, Mr. Yamashita, the "Office Automation Promotion'' project was launched and work for the establishment of a "Integrated Management Information System'' was begun. Operation of the three main systems, "Station based Point of Sales System'', "Expense Management System'', and "Integrated Railway Operation System'' started in The scale of JR East computer systems has increased by leaps and bounds ever since. During the 10 years since its establishment, the company has rapidly developed computer systems for business management. With the computer system supporting the administration of the company topping the list, computers at present are utilized in various sections, including general affairs and accounting, business operations, transportation and facilities related areas and related businesses. The large scale of the

49 company's overall computer system becomes apparent when expressed numerically. The total system comprises 29 host computers, 16,000 terminals, approximately 70 megasteps of software, and approximately 2 terabytes of files. To give a brief overall outline of computer systems at JR East, the computers in operation at JR East can be categorized by system into the following three groups: 1. Train operation related systems: Systems in this category are employed for the daily operation of trains, and for the operation and maintenance of facilities along railway routes. In these systems the train operation transmitting operation schedules to the respective sites, as well as for the daily management of transport operations, the operation of trains, the supervision of operation staff and for other transportation service related tasks. In other words, the overall system is constructed with the railway operation schedule database at the center of all transportation-planning operations. In addition, all data pertaining to the tracks and the facilities along the railway routes, including electric power facilities, signals and communication facilities, are compiled into a database and used by maintenance personnel for management of facilities during daily inspections and repair work. A command system capable of such functions as sending out alarms during emergencies and supporting recovery work in case of accidents has also been set up, to be used by the facilities supervisory personnel who control facilities management operations from the centre. 2. Customer related systems: The second category comprises computer systems employed in areas within the railway business and related businesses, which involve dealing with customers. These systems, in which customer related information is compiled into databases, are utilized in carrying out business related operations such as the introduction and sale of travel related products and services, introduction of the various projects connected with the "View card'', business credit card issued by the company, the sale of commuting tickets to business customers, and so on

50 The system also makes possible the management and calculation of revenues, on a per day basis, by adding the total amount of sales proceeds from all the stations in JR East area as put together by the Station based POS (Point of Sales) System and the total amount of income from the sales of various types of reserved tickets, compiled by MARS (Multiple Access Reservation System). It also enables the enterprise to settle accounts with other companies on a daily basis and calculate the company's net earnings. It is expected that marketing tactics, using the above mentioned customer information database, will play an important role in the future, as the company pursues its various strategic business policies. 3. Business operation related systems: The last of the three categories comprises systems, which support the planning of management strategies and decision-making processes, directly tied to the administration of the company. The overall system comprises a management related database containing information considered necessary for the management of the company, extracted from the two above databases. In addition to providing company executives with the information necessary to run the company, the system also provides each of the departments in the headquarters and the branch offices with the various data necessary for carrying out office business. Systems in this category include the executive data management system which stores data pertaining to executive meetings, a system for tracking expenditures by the various sections of the company, a database capable of constantly providing information in areas such as the company's current status of earnings, the number of passengers getting on and off trains, and so on. In addition, there is also an office based computer network providing offices with services, bulletin boards, as well as the means to reserve meeting rooms and carry out other daily tasks. To outline a few examples of Systems in Operation, we have the following (i) COSMOS (Computerized Safety, Maintenance and Operation Systems of Shinkansen) In this system computers are employed to assist in a series of Shinkansen related tasks, such as Shinkansen operation planning, operation, supervision, management of facilities, and control of electric power systems

51 The system is used daily to ensure the safety and reliability of Shinkansen services. (ii) Green Information System The system compiles a database from information pertaining to needs and opinions expressed by customers, obtained from such sources as stations and newspapers. The information is made available at all times, through computer terminals at the company headquarters and other locations, and is utilized and reflected in improvements made to station facilities, train accommodations, and in the way the staff deal with customers, as well as in making improvements in the planning of transportation and other services and operations. (iii) Travel Operations Related System The System enables JR East to carry out its travel related business operations in the same manner as large travel agencies. The system is utilized for the registration and sale of travel related products and services, for making reservations and automatically providing related facilities with reservation information as well as for supervising the selection of products and services offered, retrieving various types of information and so on. Currently a database containing customer related information is being compiled, and the system is undergoing downsizing and other improvements, which include fitting the system with the latest model terminals. (iv) Card System The system supports operations related to "View Card'', the credit card offered by JR East. It is used for issuing the cards, settling accounts, analysing the status of card related business operations and managing customer information, as well as for the retrieval of various kinds of data. (v) Facilities Management System By compiling data related to facilities along the railway into a database and enabling the use of the information during daily inspections and repair work, the system helps make facilities maintenance work more efficient.5. Future Plans for the Systems

52 As a first step, timed to coincide with the scheduled renovation of the system, the management is planning the downsizing of the hardware and restructuring of the system's functions. These changes are expected to reduce system related costs and improve performance. Next, they would like to reorient their priorities, in order to build a system that not only seeks to achieve reductions of labor and increase efficiency, but also can also contribute to the strengthening of the enterprise and help the company plan business strategies. This would mean a shift from a criterion that stresses speed to one that stresses the information and functional qualities of the system, one that can support the company in its efforts to reform its operations. This would entail changing the present vertical structure of the system, which stresses individual functions, and promoting the integration of the system's database resources, so as to build a horizontally structured and more integrated system, enabling the creation of strategic management policies and the creative pursuit of business operations. One concrete step in this regard is the plan to introduce a new office computer system employing the latest technologies in groupware, etc., to coincide with the company's move to its new headquarters next autumn, with the aim of achieving even greater efficiency in the way office business is carried out. Furthermore, in order to establish a new channel between them and their customers, they are also pursuing plans to set up a customer related information database and a business oriented system capable of employing the database to set forth more effective business strategies. By pursuing the reconstruction of the company's computer resources, East Japan Railway Company will be in a better position to realize its aim of becoming an integrated provider of services, which aim to improve the quality of life as they enter the 21st century. They hope that their efforts will lead to the greater satisfaction of their customers and the greater happiness of their employees

53 European Train Control System (ETCS) The system, together with the European Integrated Radio Enhanced Network (EIRENE) and the European Rail Traffic management System (ERTMS) essentially deals with new strategies for development of rail transport information technology applications. For more than five years, the European Union has been pressing forward with the project relating to the provision of a high-speed railway network. The major technical operating problem has been to overcome the present multiplicity of signalling and train control systems. This issue thus has a major bearing on the new directive for the interoperability of railway traffic. A further objective of the EU is the opening up of markets for procurement in the public sector, which would include railway signalling. The railways are particularly interested in the use of modern technologies with a view to improving the productivity, reliability and attractiveness of railway transport. This includes the use of radio links for the continuous transmission of information between the ground and the train. The new interoperability directive stipulates that in future all parameters for installations and vehicles that constitute a precondition for unrestricted movement within the networks are to be technically harmonized. It further determines future acceptance procedures for the different components of a railway system together with test methods to establish the ability to operate any critical parts of the systems. These new regulations pave the way for the opening up of procurement markets: Approval certificates once granted in a European country have to be recognized by all the remaining member states. The new directive is accompanied by the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) and general European specifications and standards. The elaboration of a TSI for the areas infrastructure, energy, signalling/train control, rolling stock and maintenance is in full progress. There is a draft document available on signalling and train control, which stipulates that infrastructure systems used to date, can continue to be used by new vehicles. However, for future renewal measures or new network extensions, it will be obligatory to apply new technologies

54 With regards to the specification work for ETCS, a new train control system, a vast volume of work on the first phase of the ETCS specifications was completed by the end of The UIC financed most of the project through its European member railways and had the complex undertaking supervised by a select committee. In the course of the project duration of more than five years, the EU Commission developed an increasing interest in the resulting comprehensive set of specifications and secured its own rights of use by contributing financially. Today the following specifications are available:?? Functional Requirements Specification (FRS) with summary;?? System Requirements Specification (SRS) with summary;?? Sub-System Requirements Specification (SSRS) for Eurobalise, ETCS radio interface and ETCS CAB;?? Requirements for Safety, Environment, Reliability, etc. Particular attention was given to the work on displays and operating modes. A computercontrolled simulator is available for demonstrations and modelling of the numerous functions. The clarifications of the railway development working party have shown not only that ETCS is useful and necessary for high speeds, but that within the framework of a standard system structure for train control with standard components it can also cater for the needs of the national networks including regional lines carrying little traffic. As regards the ETCS concept the following rough distinction may be made between three levels.?? Level 1 is a train protection system for use in combination with conventional external signals. It serves essentially to improve safety and may also constitute a prerequisite for the single-manning of cabs?? Level 2 is a train control system which may replace external signals and which is therefore suitable for high - speed traffic. As far as the technical aspect is concerned the ETCS fixed equipment in this form is superimposed upon conventional signal box equipment?? Level 3 differs from level 2 in that the function of train location and train integrity detection is effected using on - board equipment, which will lead to a significant simplification of the current fixed equipment

55 Between these levels there is a certain degree of inter-operability in that a vehicle fitted with level 3 equipment is capable of operating on networks equipped with level 2 and level 1 fixed equipment, and a vehicle with level 2 equipment is capable of operating on level 1 networks. The integration of ETCS into existing structures is easiest and fastest with level 1. Conversely, level 3 will entail major design modifications to the associated systems, particularly as far as the fixed equipment is concerned. From a technical point of view, there are three basic requirements:?? Cost - effective application of ETCS to all future railway lines and stations (three levels of application);?? Flexible use of balises, loops and radio for data transmission between train and ground;?? The possibility of operating on installations with existing infrastructure systems make the ETCS system highly complex With regard to interoperability, it is necessary not only to specify the functions of ETCS, but also a number of further aspects in a uniform manner:?? The definition of various operating modes;?? The ETCS language;?? Procedures in connection with data transmission over various transmission systems;?? The functional modularity of the system;?? Administrative functions for data processing. At present there is no other specification in existence anywhere that deals so extensively and in such depth with the subject of system integration. As far as the testing of prototype Eurobalises and development of ETCS loops is concerned, the success of European cooperation has been most obvious to date in furnishing EUROBALISES. In tough negotiations, all those involved managed to agree on the concept of what is known as a magnetic balise with the following features:?? 27 MHz for energizing the balises;?? 4 MHz carrier frequency for the ground - train link;?? 27 MHz carrier frequency for the link with the ground;

56 ?? 565 Kbytes/sec data transmission (in both directions); The companies produced details specifications accordingly. Four companies replied to a call for tenders for the supply of prototypes launched last year. They provided a variety of products, which could be tested for interoperability in a laboratory and for reliability on a test track. For the first time in railway history, it is now possible to buy interoperable balise products from at least 4 different suppliers. About the issue of specification work for a new digital train radio system EIRENE (European Integrated Radio Enhanced Network), the train radio systems based on a standard defined 25 years ago were no longer capable of meeting future requirements. In 1992, therefore, the UIC embarked on feasibility studies for a future system. In 1993 they took the fundamental decision in favour of using the GSM Standard prepared by ETSI (GSM = Global System for Mobile Communications), which has in the meantime been increasingly used on public networks. It may be assumed from this that in future both service and passenger-oriented communication requirements in the speech and data traffic area will be effected using the same radio system; an important application will be for ETCS. Studies have shown that in certain respects the GSM Standard needs to be adapted to specific railway requirements (e.g. Operating at 500 km/h, group calls, short build-up times for connections). It was arranged for this work to be undertaken at ETSI and it was to be completed by the end of In tough negotiations with the frequency - allocating authority CEPT, a satisfactory solution convening the allocation of a dedicated frequency range for the railways in the 900 MHz band also emerged. The ERTMS Project, which is supported financially by the EU, is to test the applicability of ETCS and EIRENE on the three railways that already use cab-signalling systems for high-speed lines. These are DB AG (Germany), SNCF (France) and FS SpA (Italy). The interaction of ETCS with such systems that are intended to remain in use for many years to come represents a major challenge and is to be tested on the basis of direct cooperation between the specialists from the respective railways. A joint project management team has been created to this end in the form of a European economic interest group, otherwise known as the ERTMS Users Group. This team of about fifteen people has meanwhile started work in a Brussels office

57 A further important participant in the overall project is the MORANE consortium, which aims to furnish a new digital radio system based on the EIRENE specification. Also involved in the project are RENFE, the Spanish railways, together with the state-run infrastructure company CEDEX, since the aim is to test the components of the future ERTM/ETCS on-board equipment on the existing high-speed line between Madrid and Seville. The EU Commission has these activities embedded in a rigidly structured project. A comprehensive master plan was established to this end together with a timescale to cover the principal activities. With an estimated overall cost of approx. 430 million ECU, this project has become the biggest rail transport project sponsored by the EU. At the moment, the three railway companies involved launched invitations to tender by means of which the different companies can tender for the various sub-projects. Project completion with the end of testing and opening of normal services on the pilot lines was planned by the end of Although the requirements of high-speed and interoperability with existing sophisticated cab signalling systems may be specific to Western Europe, the ETCS and EIRENE specifications could be of great interest for Asian and Middle - Eastern Railways. In fact, the target systems to be developed will meet the aim of cost-effectiveness for all kinds of application. UIC and ERRI are prepared to give further information and consultancy to interested Railways in and outside Europe

58 Appendix 1 The following are the present policies of the Government of India regarding the types of licenses that can be acquired for selling bandwidth 1. Infrastructure Provider I (IP I) Licence. Enables the licensee to sell ROW and dark fibers. Does not require any licence fee or Bank Guarantee 2. Infrastructure Provider II (IP II) Licence. Enables the licensee to sell bandwidth to different service providers. The licensee has to share a maximum of 15% revenue with the Government, as well as a Bank Guarantee of Rs. 100 Crores 3. Internet Service Provider (ISP) License. Enables the licensee to provide internet services and also create bandwidth for their own use. There are three categories, viz. A, B and C. This license gives the right to the licensee to build its own network. The Bank Guarantee varies for different categories. 4. National Long Distance Operator (NLDO) License. Enables the licensee to sell bandwidth to the basic service providers and cellular service providers for inter circle voice traffic. An NLDO licensee can also sell bandwidth to the ISPs. This license overrides the license for IP II. The licensee has to pay a license fees of Rs. 100 Crores and a Bank Guarantee of Rs. 400 Crores in four equal installments on the completion of the network roll out obligation. As per this obligation, the operator has to cover all the 325 LDCAs at the end of 5 7 years when the final installment of the Bank Guarantee will be released

59 Appendix 2 Minimum Network Roll Out Obligations for National Long Distance Operators for Establishing Point of Presence Phase Cumulative Percentage of Time Cumulative Percentage of National Coverage at the LDCA Period Coverage of Uneconomic level where POP has to be (Years) and Remote Areas established

60 Appendix 3 Projected Income Statement for Railtel 2001 E 2002E 2003E 2004 E 2005E 2006 E 2007E Revenues (Rs. Crores) Wholesale Band Width Revenues Sale of capacity for long distance voice Sale of capacity to ISPs Sale of capacity to cellular operators Sale of capacity to corporate leased lines Wholesale revenues Services Revenues NLDO Corporate leased lines Corporate VPN Retails ISP to corporates Services Revenues Total Revenues Costs Operating costs Selling and General Administration Revenue sharing costs Retail operating costs Total costs EBITDA Depreciation and amortization EBIT Interest EBT % EAT Dividend Retained Earnings * Income tax in year 2002 and 2003 is expected to be nil because of the adjustment of accumulated losses for 2001 against the income for these two years. Source: Project Report of Railtel Corporation of India Limited by Ministry of Railways

61 Appendix 4 Existing and planned OFC capacities Route Status State Owner Rkm No. of Fibres Spare Fibres Itarsi Bhusawal E MP-Mah IR Itarsi-Nagpur E MP-Mah IR Manmad Bhusawal E Mah IR Delhi Area E Delhi IR Ambala Saharanpur E Punjab-UP IR Tori Gumia E WB-Bih. IR Jhajha Madhupur E WB IR Durg Nagpur E MP-Mah IR Tata Chakradharpur E Bih. IR Churchgate-Virar E Mah IR Itarsi-Jabalpur E MP PGCIL Vijaypur-Dadri E MP-UP GAIL Mbps 12*2 Mbps Agra Bhopal E UP-MP DoT 7 E1 Agra Jaipur E UP-Raj. DoT 12 E1 Agra Mumbai E UP-Mah. DoT 2 E1-56 -

62 Agra Varanasi E UP DoT 1 E1 Route Status State Owner Rkm No. of Fibres Spare Fibres Ambala Chandigarh E Haryana DoT 9 E1 Ambala Delhi E Har.-Delhi DoT 14 E1 Chandigarh Jallandhar E Punjab DoT 1 E1 Chandigarh Shimla E Pun.-HP DoT 24 E1 Delhi Ahmedabad E Delhi-Guj. DoT 5 E1 Delhi Bhopal E Delhi-MP DoT 26 E1 Delhi Calcutta E Delhi-WB DoT 4 E1 Delhi Ghaziabad E Delhi-UP DoT 67 E1 Delhi Hyderabad E Delhi-AP DoT 11 E1 Delhi Mumbai E Delhi- Mah. DoT 43 E1 Jaipur Ahmedabad E Raj.-Guj. DoT 16 E1 Jaipur Indore E Raj.-MP DoT 16 e1 Jaipur Mumbai E Raj.-Mah. DoT 16 E1 Kanpur Lucknow E UP DoT 5 E1 Lucknow Patna E Up-Bih. DoT 1 E1 Varanasi Calcutta E UP-WB DoT 6 E1-57 -

63 Varanasi Lucknow E UP DoT 2 E1 Route Status State Owner Rkm No. of Fibres Spare Fibres Varanasi Patna E UP-Bih. DoT 2 E1 Loni- Jaipur- Ajmer 2001 Delhi-Raj- GAIL 1, Jamnagar Guj STM 1 60 E1 Mysore Erode- Dindugal- Madurai Vizag Vijaywada- Secunderabad 2001 Kar- TN GAIL 12 STM AP GAIL STM E E1 Mangalore Mysore 2001 Karnatka GAIL STM 1 Mysore Bangalore 2001 Karnatka GAIL STM 1 Mangalore Mysore 2001 Karnatka GAIL STM E E E1 Jutogh (Shimla) Chandigarh 2000 HP-Punjab PGCIL 106 Chandigarh Panipat 2000 Punjab- Har PGCIL 167 Panipat Delhi via Dadri, Ballabhgarh 2000 Haryana Delhi PGCIL 215 Ballabhgarh Jaipur 2000 Har Raj PGCIL

64 Azamgarh Varanasi 2000 UP PGCIL 103 Route Status State Owner Rkm Kanpur Unnao 2000 UP PGCIL 55 No. of Fibres Spare Fibres Delhi Moradabad 2000 Delhi UP PGCIL 269 Gladni (Jammu) Moga 2000 J&K-Pun PGCIL Dadri-Meerut 2000 UP PGCIL Hamirpur Jutogh (Shimla) Neyveli Taramani (Near Madras) 2000 HP PGCIL TN PGCIL 198 Kanoor Kozhikode 2000 Kerala PGCIL 111 Kozhikode Chalakudi via Thrichur Vijaywada Vishakhapatnam 2000 Kerala PGCIL AP PGCIL Trichy Erode 2000 TN PGCIL Erode Salem 2000 TN PGCIL Salem Gooty 2000 TN-AP PGCIL Gooty Hyderabad 2000 AP PGCIL Hyderabad Vijaywada 2000 AP PGCIL Thrichur North 2000 Ker-TN PGCIL

65 Udumalpet Route Status State Owner Rkm No. of Fibres Spare Fibres Gooty Chinakampally (Cuddapah) Chinakampally (Cuddapah) Renigunta 2000 AP-TN PGCIL 2000 AP PGCIL All important routes-mp 2000 MP Bharti Mumbai Kalyan WIP Mah. IR Itarsi Bina P MP IR Jabalpur Itarsi P MP IR Bina Jhansi P MP-UP IR Jhansi Agra P UP IR Mughalsarai Allahabad P UP IR Manauri Panki P UP IR Delhi Ghaziabad Panki P Delhi-UP IR Lumding Furketting P East IR Sealdah North P WB IR Tori Barwadih P East IR Manmad Igatpuri WIP Mah. IR

66 Chennai Villupuram WIP TN IR Route Status State Owner Rkm No. of Fibres Spare Fibres Villupuram Tiruchirapalli P TN IR Bangalore Guntakal P Kar. IR Renigunta Guntakal Hospet WIP AP-Kar. IR Hospet Hubli P Kar. IR Howrah Kharagpur- P WB IR Kharagpur Tatanagar P Bihar IR Chakradharpur Jharsuguda P Bihar IR Raipur Raigada P Kar. IR Chandil Gamharia P IR Ahmedabad Vatva- Gandhigram WIP Gujarat IR

67 Bibliography Articles IT Applications On Indian Rail Network, M.R. Ramakrishnan & Ajaykumar A. Bhatt Perspectives in improving the management of railways, J.T. Verghese, Eurointas Pvt. Ltd. Reports Websites Project Report of Railtel Corporation of India Limited by Ministry of Railways??