 For more videos on people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. On October 4th, India's first private train, the Tejas Express which will connect New Delhi and the city of Lucknow, was flagged off. The inaugural journey of this train faced protests by railway employees' unions as it could mark the beginning of the privatisation of the entire railway network. In fact, there is a plan already in place to privatise 150 more services if the Tejas Express is considered a success by the far-right Narendra Modi-led Indian government. These trains will be sold off to private players for about Rs 22,000 crores, which is 3 billion US dollars. So why are railway employees protesting this move? What will privatisation mean for them and for the millions of passengers who travel in the Indian railways every day? As far as the employees are concerned, this move could be a severe blow to their rights as workers and the benefits they have earned through struggles. Employees fear that if private companies take over the operation of the railways, they will no longer be guaranteed fair and regular wages. Job security will reduce drastically and contractualisation will increase. Right now, railway employees are paid according to government pay scales which are revised periodically. If private companies are handed over these operations, the payment of employees will be according to the conditions of these companies. Minimum wages according to the government scales for contractual labour will also no longer be assured. Benefits such as pension will also be at risk, along with perks like free travel passes for employees. The Indian Railways is a major source of employment in the country, with oppressed communities being key beneficiaries through the process of affirmative action. All of this will be under threat if privatisation is carried out. Now let's talk about the passengers. The Indian Railways is considered the lifeline of the country. It is one of the largest railway networks in the world which caters to over 20 million passengers every day. Many of these passengers are from working-class backgrounds and the railways provides a cheap and convenient mode of transport over both long and short distances. The privatisation of this essential service could mean that the railways no longer remains as accessible. Ticket prices are expected to increase, as has happened already in the case of the Tejas Express. And while some extra amenities may be offered by these more expensive private trains, only those who can afford them will be able to use them. In short, the railways will no longer remain a public service. The Indian Railways also offers hundreds of different kinds of travel concessions, such as those from members of oppressed communities, armed personnel and their families, disabled people, senior citizens, sports persons, students appearing for government examinations, etc. It is unlikely that these will continue to be offered. Apart from the 150 trains, seven Indian Railways production units and 44 workshops are also being planned to be corporatised. These are profit-making self-sufficient enterprises which are crucial to the operations of the railway network. Railway unions say that the country will lose some of its national assets if these are sold off to private players. 50 routes where customer traffic is high are also listed for privatisation. If entire routes face privatisation, then the whole country's connectivity could suffer, as private firms may judge that routes with low traffic are not viable. Incidentally, all of this is happening even as existing models of privatisation of railways have proved to be failures. In the UK for instance, there has been a powerful movement campaigning for the renationalisation of the railways. The privatisation of the railways is part of the right-wing Modi government's neoliberal policies of dismantling public infrastructure and attacking workers' rights. The operation of private trains was a part of the 100-day plan of action of this government that it released on returning to power for a second term in 2019. By disinvesting in selling off valuable national assets, the government has planned to raise rupees 90,000 crores or 12.6 billion US dollars. But these attempts are being widely opposed across the nation. A series of protests have been held since the intentions of this government became clear during their last term itself. The railway employees' unions have vowed that they will not surrender to this government and that they will unite and resist the Renner Modi's policies.