New Delhi [India], November 20 : Experts called for a statutory regulator to oversee tariffs, safety, competition rules and contract governance in the Indian Railways on Wednesday, warning that fragmented reforms and partial privatisation without safeguards could raise costs, weaken accountability and reduce public confidence.
The discussion took place at Railway Conclave 2.0, organised by the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) in New Delhi.
Speaking at the event, former CRIS Managing Director Vandana Nanda said the departmental structure of the Railways was inadequate to meet India's logistics and service ambitions.
"An empowered regulator must approve tariffs and track access charges, monitor service quality, publish comparative scorecards and enforce non-discriminatory access. Transparency is the best defence against both bureaucratic inefficiency and private rent-seeking," she said.
She further stressed the need for an independent safety regulator and reforms aligned with climate goals, labour capacity and technology adoption.
Former Additional General Manager of Eastern Railway Aneet Dulat detailed operational inefficiencies, project delays and cost escalations that weaken the system's competitiveness.
He warned that rail freight was losing ground to road transport.
"Per kilometre, railway freight is Rs. 1.97, while truckers run at Rs. 1.55. Freight is already overpriced. Costs have to come down drastically, otherwise the road will keep gaining," he said.
Dulat said private firms were already present in manufacturing and parcel operations, but contract management remained weak.
He flagged issues of inconsistent payments, risk allocation and project overruns.
"Fifty-four per cent of mega projects have had financial runoffs and nearly one-third faced bank runoffs," he noted, adding that the system must treat contractors as partners and ensure timely payments, mobilisation support and clear accountability.
Additional Member (Tourism & Catering), Railway Board, Amit Varadan said the debate on privatisation was often oversimplified and did not reflect global experience."Privatisation of railways was at one time a very raging debate... but there has been a very mixed bag of experiences. Some countries even reversed it. It's not a very clear-cut thing that privatisation would always lead to something better," he said.
He emphasised that efficiency depends on implementation, not ownership.
"There is nothing intrinsic in a government sector or private sector that makes it more amenable to efficiency or inefficiency. It becomes a question of professionalism of conceiving a job well and implementing it well," he said.
Varadan outlined that large parts of catering and tourism operations were already privatised.
"Mobile catering on trains is fully run by IRCTC through licensed private operators, about 16.5 lakh meals a day. Static units at stations are also licensed out," he said.
On competition, he added, "Privatisation itself is no panacea. There has to be competition within that model. We cannot have an oligarchical system."
He also highlighted the extensive private participation in luxury and budget tourism trains, noting that flexibility, oversight and customer accountability remain essential.
The experts collectively argued that India needs a hybrid reform model; private efficiency with strong public regulation before any large-scale restructuring or privatisation is considered.