Opinion Laying new tracks
A railway university would promote synergy between operations and academia.
As a university, it should have academic autonomy. Academic institutions under the aegis of ministries tend to become an arm of the government department.
During his recent tour of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would set up four railway universities in the coming years. Earlier this month, China proposed that it would help fund India’s first railway university, announced by the railway minister in his budget speech. Given the vast network of the railways and the human resources required to upgrade and improve it, such an initiative is welcome.
On August 15, 2003, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort that a technology development mission for rail safety, dealing with about a dozen challenges faced by the Indian Railways, would be undertaken by IIT Kanpur. Faculty, students and researchers at the IIT worked on developing technologies related to rolling stocks, operations, motive power, metallurgy and other factors. The work done on bio-toilets, corrosion-resistant rails, smart-sensing engines, an operational system for train tracking as well as an improved design for axles was praiseworthy. The experience created a synergy between academia and the railways. Based on this, it was argued on several occasions that an academic platform was needed to develop Indian railway systems.
What should be the contours of the proposed railway university? First and foremost, as a university, it should have academic autonomy and freedom. This is important. Many academic institutions that are under the aegis of specific ministries tend to become an extended arm of the government department. That should not happen, though eminent railway engineers and managers may be appointed as adjunct or chair professors.
The university should have three layers. The first should be the foundational knowledge layer, consisting of instruction in the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. The second should deal with professional knowledge, involving several engineering domains as well as management, law and medicine. The third layer should consist of interdisciplinary domains relevant to railway systems, such as signalling, tracks and formations, traffic, motive power, rolling stocks, metallurgy of rails. This third layer is where conventional academia and railway systems intersect.
Railway systems are highly interdisciplinary in nature, so it is desirable to have a structure consisting of various schools and centres. The natural sciences, engineering and management could be organised under schools, while subjects like signalling and motive power could be taught at centres. Faculty members may belong to a school as well as one or more centres. These centres could also serve as nodes for technology transfer to railway organisations, engineering companies and other agencies. Several private players involved in railway work have emerged in India. These organisations would also benefit from the university.
The proposed railway university should also have some central research facilities. For instance, the establishment of a railway testing track is necessary. Research in signalling will also require a central facility for developing and testing various strategies. This work is necessary for ensuring that trains run safely. A mass transportation centre should develop new ideas and systems for urban areas. Central research facilities would be a unique asset of the railway university.
National and international linkages should also be a key element in the development of the proposed railway university. There are several universities in Europe and China that have excellent research programmes on railway systems. The centre at RWTH Aachen University in Germany is an example. The work done by certain American universities on magnetic levitation is also very interesting. China now has nine railway universities. A similar symbiotic relationship between academia and railways should emerge in India with the formation of the proposed railway universities.
It may be recalled that breakthrough research in engineering has been spurred by challenges posed by the railways. They gave rise to wonderful bridge technology, the entire field of fatigue and wear in mechanical engineering was developed to tackle axle failures while the field of soil mechanics evolved around the challenge of rail formations. Developments in signalling are fascinating achievements in engineering. This evolution could be continued with the establishment of the proposed railway university. It is hoped that such a university will also be connected to eminent national-level institutions like the IITs, NITs, IIMs and IIITs.
The Indian Railways is a mammoth organisation. The operational skills of its staff are excellent. But absorbing and integrating new technologies and maintaining an up-to-date engineering system requires true synergy between academia and operation. This unique integration could be achieved by the proposed railway university.
The writer is former director, IIT Kanpur, and founder director, Mahindra Ecole Centrale, Hyderabad. Views are personal
express@expressindia.com
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