Page 13 - IMDR JOURNAL 22-23

IMDR’s Journal of Management Development and Research 2022-23

Railway Network Analysis for Cargo Transport in India

Dr. Abhijeet Shivane, Associate Professor
Arnav Apte, PGDM II

Rushiraj Joshi, PGDM II

DES Institute of Management Development and Research (IMDR) Pune,

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Abstract

Shipments by truck, ship, train, and plane — also known as road, maritime, rail, and air shipments
— are the four primary modes of transportation in logistics. In the realm of commerce, the company
that can convey freight for the least amount of money and with the least amount of delay prevails.
Building a reliable supply chain using the 4 main modes of transportation—road, maritime, air, and
rail—is, therefore, a crucial component of transportation management. Building a successful supply
chain requires understanding each modality's benefits and drawbacks. India has been using roadways
and trucks as its principal mode for transporting cargo. Around 70% of the cargo transported in India
takes place in the form of road transport. Even though India has a well-established railways network, it
has not yet been able to use it efficiently for freight transport. Compared to the US where the majority
of freight is transported via railways. However, the government especially since 2014 has realized the
opportunity and the immense potential of transporting cargo via rail and is actively taking initiatives to
incentivize and promote rail cargo transportation. In this paper, we aim to study the benefits of rail
transport and the government’s approach to building a rail freight network in India.

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Introduction

India makes great use of rail transit to move both people and cargo. The great majority of the
nation's rail activities are under the control of Indian Railways (IR). The Ministry of Railways,
which historically had its government budget, owns IR, a state-owned corporation. The Indian
Railways network was used by 22.15 million people every day during 2019 and 2020. The IR
network also transported 3.32 million metric tons of freight per day at that time.

Indian Railways is the backbone of the country's logistics sector. It transports more than 1.4
billion tons of freight annually along a network of 68000 kilometers. With a network that
essentially spans the entire country, Indian railways serve a significant role in fostering the
country's balanced and equal socioeconomic progress. It transports the majority of goods,
including bulk commodities like coal, iron ore, iron and steel, food grains, cement, petroleum
products, fertilizer, and other containers. The Indian railway system is the most environmentally
friendly form of ground transportation. The Indian Railways are committed to providing
competitive pricing and on-time cargo delivery.

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