New Delhi, India has joined a select group of countries operating heavy-haul freight railway systems and is looking to adopt global best practices and advanced technologies to further improve safety, reliability, and efficiency in freight operations.
Speaking at the International Heavy Haul Seminar 2026, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited managing director Praveen Kumar said the event aims to bring together experts from across the world and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and technologies that can help lower India's logistics costs.
The discussions are centred on emerging technologies that can improve railway maintenance and operations, including AI-based predictive maintenance, autonomous inspection, monitoring, and maintenance systems.
India has entered the elite group of countries operating heavy-haul freight railway systems, joining the United States, Sweden, China, Australia, Brazil, and South Africa.
The Dedicated Freight Corridor was conceived with the objective of reducing logistics costs, which are around 13-14 per cent of GDP in India, compared to 7-8 per cent globally.
The Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors have already shown a decline in logistics costs after becoming fully operational, and the corporation is now working on the East-West Dedicated Freight Corridor, which will run from Dankuni in West Bengal to the Surat region in Gujarat.
