Walking-Pace Trains Spur $17 Billion India Rail Revamp: Freight
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Vinay Kumar’s locomotive thuds into coal cars at a New Delhi power plant, coupling with a deep clunk to end a journey whose last two kilometers took over six hours, a pace slower than walking.
“We were held for hours at a stop signal because passenger trains get priority,” the 28-year-old said as he prepared to drive the cars away. He embodies the issues freight trains face across India, where a network built mostly under British colonial rule now struggles with supply disruptions and rising costs. That contributes to transport losses that McKinsey & Co. estimates may reach $140 billion a year by 2020.