India has completed a new piece of infrastructure, a supply-chain wonder, that could change the economics of moving goods across much of the country, and with it, the economic destiny of the country. With the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) now fully operational, the 2,843-km Eastern and Western DFC network gives freight trains their own high-capacity railway over two of India's most important economic axes.
The immediate gain is lower transit time and better reliability, which can reduce the amount of money businesses have tied up in transport and inventory. The larger prize is what will follow -- more competitive exports, a wider manufacturing base, cheaper movement of minerals and farm produce, and greater capacity on India's existing railway and road networks.
