We analyse the factors that led to the turnaround of the Indian Railways from a low performing organisation to a high performing one. Literature on public sector turnaround provides the theoretical underpinnings. Enterprise turnaround is often ascribed to managerial leadership; we found that environmental factors (good luck) contributed in a substantial way to the success of Indian Railways. The implication of our study is that an organisation’s turnaround success needs to be put in a wider context.