Hyderabad: Dr R Gopalakrishnan, a 1998-batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service, took charge as Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of the Secunderabad Division under South Central Railway on Thursday.
Prior to this appointment, he served as Additional Divisional Railway Manager in the same division. A graduate in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Delhi, Dr Gopalakrishnan also holds an MBA from FMS Delhi and a Ph.D. in Engineering Systems and Design from the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
His career combines operational leadership with data-driven innovation. He led the conceptualisation of India’s first National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), covering over 4.8 lakh households, now being executed by the National Survey Organization.
He has contributed to Indian Railways through algorithm-based solutions for freight pricing, seat capacity optimisation in reserved trains, and automated terminal allotment systems. He also served on a national committee assessing railway junction capacity.
