Hyderabad, Nov 24 (IANS): The Indian Railways on Tuesday announced that it is collaborating with the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) for a study on an integrated coal-freight optimisation model to increase network throughput.
South Central Railway's (SCR) Principal Chief Operations Manager, Shiva Prasad, handed over the letter of authorisation to ISB's Deputy Dean Milind Sohoni in the presence of SCR general Manager Gajanan Mallya and other senior officials of Railways and ISB at Rail Nilayam.
Mallya stressed the need for having an integrated freight optimisation model using the latest techniques. He said that currently, not only does coal occupy the predominant share in the freight basket of Indian Railways, but the transportation of the commodity also happens through some of the most saturated sections of the rail network.
With the introduction of Freight Operations Information System (FOIS), the entire data of freight services is available in digital format which can be effectively utilised both for the demand estimation as well as to develop a model to supply the rakes to meet the needs of the industry.
He expressed his happiness in collaborating with a renowned institute like ISB which will help in developing such a model making use of the latest techniques so as to increase the network throughput while optimising freight transportation over the Indian Railways.
Sohoni said that the ISB is privileged to have a sustained association with Indian Railways, one of the largest rail networks in the world. He said that the scientific analysis going to be conducted by the ISB will explore new avenues for Railways in improving the freight traffic.
The ISB will look forward to delivering a good optimisation model which results in meeting demand supply variation effectively and enhances overall performance of network, he added.
Indian Railways is already associated with ISB for imparting training to Railway officials in enhancing managerial skills. Recently, Indian Railways collaborated with the ISB to set up a Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics at Secunderabad.