As with many other countries around the world, the coronavirus pandemic has hugely disrupted Indian Railways' operations, both freight and passenger. However, the lockdown offers a propitious moment for IR's senior management to reflect on opportunities to reorient its core businesses for a post-Covid 'new normal'. Part of any rethink must seek to capture a much larger share of the burgeoning market for the transport of low-density high-value goods. There is considerable potential for winning break-bulk business using innovative equipment like the 'Dwarf containers introduced for specialist products since 2017, while the development of a high-performance parcels van could help IR to tap the valuable market for premium parcels and express courier consignments.
展开▼
