2,400 trains a month: my life as a DFCCIL Station Master

In short: From September 2023 to January 2025 I was a Station Master on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFCCIL), handling about 2,400 freight train operations a month across 5+ departments. It taught me to operate at scale and decide with incomplete information, skills I now use as a PM.

Joining the freight corridor

In September 2023 I started as a Station Master on the Dedicated Freight Corridor, run by DFCCIL (Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India) under Indian Railways. These are rail lines built for freight, so goods can move faster without competing with passenger trains.

The weight of scale

A month meant about 2,400 freight train operations, coordinated across 5+ departments. On a corridor like this the wheel never stops, so every decision has a train waiting on it.

Deciding without perfect information

You rarely have every fact before you must act. You learn to make the best call with what you have, communicate it clearly to every department, and own the outcome.

Moving on to build

I valued the scale, but I wanted to build products. In 2025 I joined PhysicsWallah, and today I'm a Product Manager there. The full journey is in From Station Master to Product Manager.

The lesson

Products, like railways, are systems where every handoff matters. The railway taught me to stay calm under pressure, and that is one of the most useful things I bring to product work.

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