The country at the center of this story, India, started shifting its crude import strategy sharply after March 2026. Before this, it mostly relied on oil from West Asia, especially from nations like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait. But when the Strait of Hormuz disruptions began, those traditional flows became risky and expensive. 

With the full commissioning of the 2,843-kilometre Dedicated Freight Corridor network (comprising the Eastern and Western arms), India has achieved a significant milestone in engineering: Becoming the first nation to operate double-stack container trains powered entirely by high-voltage electric locomotives.