Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani was on Wednesday appointed the head of the Railway Board. The appointment comes at a time when Indian Railways is passing through one of its most turbulent periods in recent times.

A turbulent beginning is nothing new for Lohani, who, in his own words, “is a specialist in turnaround of organisations”. He took charge of Air India in August 2015, when the airline was plagued by a pilot strike, and unresolved issues related to the Air India-Indian Airlines merger, which led to a low staff morale. The national carrier was steered to a ...