Robust transportation networks are critical for a country's growth.

- Tilak Raj Seth

Head, Mobility, Siemens

India has set a target to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025. How do you see the infrastructure plans proposed by the government, especially in the transportation segment, drive the nation to the growth targets?

Infrastructure and especially Railways has been the bedrock of the Indian economy. As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India's transport system has evolved over the years with technology as the major driver of growth. Over the years, it has also been one of the strong sources of employment generation. This also means increased demand, growth over the value chain. The plans proposed by the government can strengthen India's position on a global landscape of infrastructure. Siemens has played a major role in building future ready rail infrastructure in the country. I am proud to say we are actively contributing to 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative by following local additions in the entire value chain of engineering, manufacturing, installation and commissioning along with after sales services. Siemens India has 21 factories and we are truly a global company with a high depth of manufacturing in India.

Can you tell us about the segments in the transportation space which are witnessing investments by private players? How do you see this as an opportunity for players like you to get more contracts across your business verticals in the mobility space?

Robust transportation networks are critical for a country's growth. Growing urbanization, demand for faster and interconnected travel are the drivers of a progressive economy. For a country like India, connectivity from a village to a city needs considerable infrastructure in place. Indian Railways has been focusing on increasing throughput, capacity, availability and efficiency. Smart connectivity in freight as well as passenger transport can boost inter-city travel, trade and improve livelihood. With the fast changing world, digitalization has further enhanced lives. It is now possible to bridge the gap between availability and efficiency by implementing the right technology at the right time. Digitalisation and leveraging data by right analytics in operation, maintenance and life cycle services can boost infrastructure to create intelligent infrastructure.

Government has opened up many state-controlled sectors for private participation, for eg railways, etc as they are looking for more PPP. Are there any concerns of the private sector? How do you assess Ease of doing business?

There are successful public private partnership projects that have been implemented in the past in infrastructure projects. It has brought a revolution in the quality of operations. While the PPP model is quite promising considering the targets set by Indian Railways, PPP demands a balance of making an equitable distribution of the risks. India still looks at putting their ridership risk on the private partner, which may be helpful in some areas. If the ridership risk is on the government side, then it can be a game-changer for doing business. PPP is a very good step, and if ridership risks are taken by the public authority, then it will catalyze private participation to an even greater extent.

Since the last few years, the government has been promoting Make in India and its Aatmanirbhar Bharat program. After the whole anti-China movement, the focus on becoming self-reliant has become stronger. For a company of your scale which has a presence in India for so many decades, how do you see this as an opportunity for Siemens and other domestic players in the transportation space?

Siemens has been a reliable partner in India's growth story. From the rail transport perspective, we all know that Indian Railways is committed to augment the throughput on its infrastructure, enhance capacity and accelerate asset addition. I am proud to say we are actively contributing to 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative by following local additions in the entire value chain of engineering, manufacturing, installation and commissioning along with after sales services. Siemens India has 21 factories and we are truly a global company with a high depth of manufacturing in India. We participate in all the mainline electrification, signaling and tele-communications opportunities. We are a key component  & systems supplier to Indian railways manufacturing and operational units.  We are also participating in metro projects through ongoing and upcoming tenders. Our focus on high performance, reliability and accuracy has helped us offer innovative solutions to our customers. We are fully equipped to meet expectations of Indian Railways and metro corporations as we bring in a perfect blend of global know-how and local expertise.

Can you tell us about the overall challenges impacting the transportation infrastructure sector & what measures need to be taken to streamline it? Also the steps that need to be taken in Indian Railways in terms of electrification & automation?

Indian Railways has set a mission to achieve 100% electrification by the year 2023. As on date, around 35% of this target has been achieved. This is a great start. The pace of rail electrification has increased by 4.5 times from the year 2009 to till date. However, this needs to improve. There are many more challenges to be addressed. For example, there must be a concrete plan to monetize the existing number of diesel locomotives which are still in use. Secondly, there's a considerable number of routes which are electrified; however, they need to complete the route. This is also one of the reasons diesel locomotives are still in use in such routes. The horse power to trailing load ratio is low in our country wrt global; norms. This needs to improve if we need to enhance capacity, speed and throughput. CLWs 9000 HP loco with our traction equipment for freight operation, that is already in commercial service is a promising lever in this direction. Another critical step that Indian Railways needs to take is to make the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) in India a credible reality. For this Indian ATP, a global level of provenness, yet locally produced, and still having interoperability with international technologies will be an essential and important step. This would need to draw upon the strengths of global experience of companies in India, could have data collation from way side by Balises and have interoperability between India developed solutions and the international ones like Modern Train Control System. There is still some action required to be done here by the authorities.

What according to you should be the priorities for the government by 2025 in the transportation space?

With the onset of the pandemic, we all have embraced digitalization and have also experienced the positive impact it has made. To achieve higher capacity, throughput and availability, it's important to adapt a digital mindset and explore the possibilities of enhancing operations by implementing advanced technological solutions. Secondly, more collaborative efforts should be prioritized to accelerate infrastructure creation and upgradation, capacity addition and throughput augmentation. In addition to the station and train modernization, IR has also taken up carbon neutrality with the right zeal. Towards all these endeavours, a lot of initiatives, like the 9000 HP freight locomotive, conversion of existing Diesel to electric locomotives (conversion of diesel to electric locomotives is relevant today as they would be needed in order to match the pace of electrification and for improving carbon footprint), getting higher speed and modern trains. Getting automatic signalling with a proven ATP and Modern Train Protection System would be the right priorities for Indian railways. Also being taken up are the upgrade of rail operations, response time improvement and enhancing quality of service to the public and freight customers.

Siemens has made huge investments in India since the past many years. What is your vision for the mobility business by 2025 in India and how will it drive the company's growth here? Also, can you share your plans for investments, capacity expansion, etc in the coming years?

With the objective of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and the pace at which urbanization is taking place, I think there's a need to accelerate the transition and adaptation to the technology enabled transport sector. Future would be driven by technology and AI solutions in rail transport. Mobility will have to be seamless and well-integrated that encompasses the first and last mile connectivity. The information availability in the hands of the end user will reach newer heights to make the experience of the user a great one, as well as make it extremely convenient for the commuter to choose  the best route or mode suiting specific needs. The goods movement to the cities, between inter cities will transform to match growing urbanization needs- here too digitalization will play a crucial role. For the operators, digitalization will become an essential underlying part in the entire infrastructure that first connects the assets to throw the data, collects and collates the data so generated, and uses this data for analysis and for taking  well informed decisions towards maintenance and operation.

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