Transformation of Indian Railways (Issues, Root Causes, Solutions)

Rajendra ji's post from Transform India circle is below. Can we have some focused discussions on how each one of the issues/solutions can be addressed. I suggest we also ask for members who would like to volunteer as citizen experts for each one of these areas

If Rajendra ji is ok, those names can be printed with 1-2 page paper and submitted to Ministry. The members must be willing to be called upon and help the Govt. Inputs please.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Issues Identified
1 Ticket fares are increased frequently
2 Indian railways is not a high speed network
3 Difficult to get tickets even in tatkal
4 Hygiene issues on the stations and inside the train
5 Food served in the trains is sub-standard
6 Most of the trains are usually off schedule
7 T.T.E collect money from people and then allocate berths to them
8 People are packed into general compartment beyond its capacity
9 A tout can easily get you tickets by taking some extra money
10 Trains are usually off-schedule
11 Most business done with Indian Railways involves bribery and corruption

Root Causes Identified
1. A lot of money gets circulated in corruption
2. Electricity and fuel has got costlier
3 A large number of people travel without ticket
4 Railways has become a giant organization which is difficult to control
5 They need to cater to a huge population base
6 Increase in cost of projects due to delays
7 Un-accountability of officers
8 Passengers are not educated to maintain cleanliness in trains and on platforms
9 Lack of proactiveness among the railways department
10 Every small change needs a lot of approvals to get implemented
11 Most of the procurement and external interaction is in person/manual with no systems

Solutions Identified
1 Transform railways into a PPP model
2 FDI in railways should be allowed
3 Information technologies can be used for live updating of reservation charts
4 Vigilance has to be improved on all TTE's
5 A check need to be put on all the free passes that are issued
6 Increase in the average speed of trains so that the running time decreases and more trains can be run
7 Reduction in concessions given to some special categories
8 Special measures should be taken to maintain cleanliness in the pantry var
9 Every bogie should have a cap on the number of passengers allowed in
10 Touts should be caught and dealt severely with
11 Build better railway stations and build retail spaces around them
12. Performance of the IRCTC website should be significantly improved
13 Indian railways could be used for advertising
14 The logistics arm of the railways needs to be professionally managed
15 Public address system and Wi-fi needs to be installed
16 Electronic Tendering, Procurement and elimination of human interface in all supplier/customer transactions must be implemented. more