East Indian Railway: 1906 History of the EIR - Chapter XIX
Note: This is a sub-section of the East Indian Railway
The History of the East Indian Railway by George Huddleston. Published 1906 by Tracker, Spins and Co
CHAPTER XIX. SOME FURTHER REMARKS on COMPETITION AND RATES.
ALTHOUGH the low charges at present in force on the East Indian Railway are mainly due to the liberal policy followed in voluntarily reducing the rates for such items as coal, still it must not be forgotten that a famine in Bengal first directed attention to the possibility of carrying traffic, over long distances, at charges which were previously considered impossible, and that competition has also had its effect on the tariff.
It has been shown that serious competition against the East Indian Railway began, when the opening of the Rajputana route to Bombay first threatened Calcutta with the diversion of the trade of the Upper Provinces. But the East Indian Railway has not had to contend with the rivalry of the Western lines alone; it has also had to meet the competition of various alternative railway routes and of rivers, canals and roads. To talk therefore of the East Indian Railway having a monopoly of traffic shows a strange misconception of facts.
Before the East Indian Railway has run 150 miles of its course from Calcutta it gets in touch with the River Ganges, the main waterway of Bengal, on which a service of competing steamers is ever ready to convey traffic to and from the metropolis, at rates far below those which would be profitable to the railway. That the railway is able to compete with these steamers is mainly due to the speedier transit it can offer and to the fact that during the monsoons, when steamers are best able to ply, the Railway is generally experiencing a slack time and is in a position to make special concessions in rates. These rates, known as "monsoon rates," are successful in drawing to the rail a share of the trade which it would otherwise lose, but in any case the direct effect is reduction.
As to native boats, these attempt to carry all they can from any source, but while they take something away they also bring something to the rail, and therefore may be regarded as feeders as well as competitors. It was in order to enable country boats to bring produce to the rail direct that branch lines were originally constructed to all the more important ghats on the river bank; and, on the whole, although the river has been the cause of many rate reductions, it is really one of the best friends of the railway. The riparian stations on the East Indian Railway are among its most important.
Before the railway gets beyond the effect of river competition it has to contend with the claims of the Western lines which are always trying to draw to Bombay the traffic whose natural port is Calcutta. This competition begins within 500 miles of Calcutta and extends over the whole length of the railway above, including of course the Jubbulpore line, where, perhaps, the East Indian Railway position is weakest.
The influence of competition is also felt with the Bengal-Nagpur Railway running by an alternative route to Kutni Station on the Jubbulpore branch; with the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway and connected systems running almost parallel, and tapping the East Indian at several points; with the Bengal and North-Western which has gradually but surely extended its system on the other side of the River Ganges, and affects rates as high up as Delhi and even beyond; with the Southern Punjab and North-Western Railways which endeavour to draw traffic to Kurrachee; not to mention railways which have been permitted to construct alternative routes, within the sphere of East Indian Railway control, such as the Agra-Delhi Chord and that greatest of all blunders, the Cawnpore-Achneyra line. It would form a history in itself to trace the effect of all the competition the East Indian Railway has to meet, to discuss the several agreements come to with foreign lines and to disentangle the many disagreements; and even if this was done it would not be of great interest to any but traffic experts; it would not assist, materially in judging the main results, which have been an exceedingly low, if complicated, tariff and an ever-increasing traffic.
The East Indian Railway has never feared fair competition, but there is a strong feeling that some restriction should be placed on lines which needlessly reduce charges at competitive points, and then, in order, apparently, to make up for the loss, retain their internal rates at an excessively high figure. The system of laying down a hard and fast rule for all railways, irrespective of the length of lead or of cost of working, in no way meets the case, especially when the absurdities of the methods resorted to on some systems are seen; but these have become more apparent since competition has grown keener, and the public are now beginning to appreciate the facts and to place them before the Government.
Speaking to the shareholders in 1891, General Sir Richard Strachey remarked:—
"The East Indian Railway has no cause to look with anxiety or jealousy at any increase of railway facilities offered by other lines, the traffic of the undertaking rests on a thoroughly sound, independent basis, and only needs a judicious system of management and a liberal tariff, such as the Board desires to offer to the public, to ensure its continued expansion."
General Sir Richard Strachey also accepts the view, which is undoubtedly correct, that "if there is some loss by the diversion of traffic from the East Indian Railway that, in the absence of other lines, it might have retained, it is beyond question that any such result is largely compensated, if not actually counterbalanced, by the increased traffic due to the opening up of communication with districts formerly inaccessible."
At the same time, the Board, while recognising that the traffic which is directed from the North-West Provinces towards Bombay, should be provided with whatever facilities it may require, fail to see why the East Indian Railway should be left powerless to respond to reductions because they are bound by a common minimum, although they can afford to carry at cheaper rates than any other line in India. If, as the Secretary of State says, "the advantages due either to geographical position or other circumstances " should furnish no reason for artificial restrictions, then what can be said of the restriction of a minimum rate, when a railway can carry at a profit below that minimum? Then again, although the Board declined to recognise the claim of the railways, designed to carry the traffic of Central and Western India, to interfere in the carrying trade between places like Agra and Delhi, which ever since the opening of the East Indian Railway has been exclusively in its hands, yet the Government of India have recently given to one of its opponents the construction and working of the Agra-Delhi Chord.
It is suggested that these and similar questions are those to which the public of Calcutta should direct their best attention, realizing that their interests are identical with those of the East Indian Railway.
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