Indian Railways: From an aging colonial relic to a powerful engine of growth

Strategy to address operational bottlenecks

Building on decades of expansion and modernisation, Indian Railways has enhanced passenger travel experience through initiatives like Vande Bharat and High-Speed Rail (HSR). While such services represent a major step towards modern, comfortable, and technology-driven rail travel under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, it also demands addressing long-standing logistical constraints: limited and aging track capacity.

With heavy and slow-moving freight trains, railway networks face severe congestion. Therefore, the Standing Committee on Railways underlined the need for Indian Railways to diversify its freight basket, move beyond bulk commodities, and focus on goods that are primarily transported by road to jack up its business.

Against this backdrop, the ongoing transformation of Indian Railways seeks to address this through a three-pronged strategy:

1. Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs): Specialised railway tracks designed for freight transport, DFCs are already transforming how goods travel across the country. While freeing up tracks, these corridors also help reduce the cost and time of logistics.

2. Kavach 4.0: The nationwide establishment of Kavach 4.0, an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, to enhance train protection, operational safety, and reliability across high-density routes.

3. Net-zero, self-sufficient future: A strategic shift towards green energy and sovereign capability to ensure a low carbon and self sufficient future.

Let’s analyse each of these in detail.

How freight corridors power logistics revolution 

Since its inception, Indian Railways has operated on a mixed-traffic model, where relatively slow-moving freight trains and high-speed passenger trains share the same tracks. This worked in earlier decades largely due to lower traffic volume. 

But today, it has created what can be described as a zero-sum situation: Prioritising passenger trains delays the movement of essential goods, while heavy freight traffic limits the speed of passenger trains, including the ones like Vande Bharat. 

DFCs seek to solve this by creating cargo highways for the exclusive use of freight trains. The completion of the 1,506-km long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) in March 2026 marks a significant milestone towards addressing this challenge. 

The operationalising of both Western Dedicated Freight Corridor and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors (1,337 Km) enables Indian Railways to unlock much-needed track capacity for high-speed travel. DFCs will raise the speeds of freight trains to 75 to 100 kmph  from the present average of 25 kmph, making the transport of perishable goods and industrial materials much faster. 

More importantly, migrating a large part of the freight traffic to these lines will decongest existing tracks for passenger trains. Without the freeing up of track space through DFCs, the goal of high-speed passenger travel in Indian Railways will remain impossible.

Additionally, these corridors will also be key to achieving the goal of reducing logistics costs from 14 per cent of GDP to the global standard of 8 per cent set out in the National Logistics Policy. This gap represents substantial savings that may be passed on to consumers or reinvested in infrastructure and innovation. 

Fixing last-mile connectivity 

Moreover, the modernisation of freight railways extends beyond exclusive tracks. Under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, last mile connectivity of freight is addressed through efforts to develop Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals. 

These are modern multimodal logistics hubs that integrate rail with roads, ports, and airports, speeding up freight movement not just on track, but across the entire supply chain. This integration is key to advancing ‘Make in India’ manufacturing ambitions. 

Embedding such logistics hubs within or near industrial clusters will significantly reduce turnaround times (the time from a shipment’s dispatch to its final delivery), making manufacturing more cost-effective, time-bound, and export-ready. 

This shift in focus from freight tonnage to speed and efficiency reflects the evolving priorities of Indian Railways, which is in sync with the needs of the 21st century.

Safety shield through Kavach and beyond

At the same time, maintaining passenger and cargo safety is a necessity for any modern railway system. Historically, Indian Railways relied on manual signalling and Vigilance Control Devices (VCDs), which monitor the alertness of loco pilots to ensure safety. However, these systems are vulnerable to human error and carry risks in a high-density network. 

To address this, Indian Railways adopted Kavach in 2020. Developed by the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) under the Ministry of Railways, Kavach functions as a digital safety system to achieve the goal of zero-accidents. 

Its latest version, Kavach 4.0, meets Safety Integrity Level – 4 (SIL-4), which is the highest global safety standard as per the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). 

It works by enabling continuous communication between the stations, locomotives, and trackside equipment. For instance, if a loco-pilot fails to apply brakes in time, or if two trains end up on the same track due to signalling errors, Kavach is equipped to automatically take control and apply brakes, thereby preventing Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) and rear-end collisions.

In addition to safety, Kavach enables more dense utilisation of track space. The use of an automated system that provides real-time updates on the location and speed of every train means that Indian Railways can reduce headway – the distance between two moving trains on track – without any safety risks. Thus, Kavach also acts as a digital mechanism that increases track utilisation and reduces the immediate need for investment towards building new tracks.

Green energy and sovereign capability

The third pillar of the modernisation drive is the transition towards green energy and greater sovereign capability. Indian Railways has set an ambitious goal of becoming a net-zero carbon emitter by 2030, through the complete electrification of its broad-gauge network and the large-scale installation of solar panels across railway lands and station rooftops. 

This shift is not based on environmental concerns alone. By reducing reliance on imported diesel, the Railways is also reducing import dependency and vulnerability to fluctuations in global fuel prices. There are also plans to deploy hydrogen-powered trains in hilly terrains as part of the Hydrogen for Heritage initiative, further underlining the Railways’ commitment to decarbonisation and technological innovation. 

Alongside sustainability, the Indian Railways is increasingly focusing on building indigenous capabilities. The domestic development and manufacturing of platforms like Vande Bharat trains and Kavach safety systems are some of the examples of a broader shift towards self-reliance.

This also opens up the possibility of realising India’s potential to be an exporter of such technologies to the global south as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. This would mark a watershed moment in the journey of Indian railways from an importer of railway technology to an exporter of railway infrastructure to the developing nations.

Towards reimagining Indian railways

Thus, the modernisation of Indian Railways goes far beyond the upgrade of trains and stations. It represents a comprehensive re-engineering of the nation’s rail network. Through the functional segregation of freight from the passenger fleet via DFCs, safety upgrades through Kavach 4.0, and a commitment to green energy, the Railways is transforming from an aging colonial relic into the steel spine of a rapidly developing nation. 

This transformation is unfolding on two fronts. The first is a revolution in passenger experience through the upgrading of speed, amenities, and overall quality of transit. The second, less visible but equally important, is the modernisation of freight movement and industrial efficiency.

Together, these measures ensure that as India moves toward 2047, its oldest infrastructure remains a powerful engine of growth, unifying the nation through seamless, safe, and sustainable movement.

Post read questions

Indian Railways’ modernisation is as much about freight efficiency as passenger experience. Discuss with reference to Dedicated Freight Corridors.

Discuss the role of PM Gati Shakti in transforming India’s logistics ecosystem. How does multimodal integration improve industrial competitiveness?

Technology is central to improving both safety and efficiency in Indian Railways.” Discuss with examples such as Kavach and digital integration.

Discuss the feasibility of Indian Railways’ target of becoming a net-zero carbon emitter by 2030. What challenges remain? Examine the role of railways in India’s transition toward a low-carbon transport economy.

Analyse how initiatives like Vande Bharat and Kavach contribute to the ‘Make in India’ vision. Can India emerge as a global exporter of railway technologies?

(Kannan K is a Doctoral candidate at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad.) 

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