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While welcoming the move to indigenously develop bullet trains capable of a maximum speed of 250 kmph, experts have also cautioned the Railway Ministry that scaling up production before testing the prototype could be risky. Their cautionary note follows reports that the Ministry will soon award a tender for more trains. In a push to the 'Made-In-India' initiatives, the Ministry in 2024 awarded a contract to Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) to develop one pair of 250 kmph bullet trains by 2027. The Ministry recently informed a parliamentary panel that the first pair of Bharat-made Bullet Trains, named B28, will operate on the 508-km-long Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor. Its first phase is expected to open in August 2027 on a 97-km stretch from Surat to Vapi. The corridor is being constructed with financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to operate Japanese-made 320 km/h bullet trains using Japanese signalling technology. The Ministry .
Indian Railways has approved the regularisation of the Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad and Puri-Patna special trains. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi about the development. "Kindly refer to our discussion regarding regularisation of special trains for public convenience. You would be pleased to know that regularisation of the two special trains have been approved," Vaishnaw said in a letter to the chief minister. Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Special (02832/02831) will now run as Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express (18403/18404) and Puri-Patna Special (08439/08440) will now run as Puri-Patna Express (18405/18406). The daily Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express will depart Bhubaneswar at 8.25 pm and reach Dhanbad at 11 am the next day. Its return journey will commence at 4 pm and the train would arrive at the Odisha capital at 7.45 am the next day. The Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express will halt at Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Rairakhol, Sambalpur city, ...
The Railway Ministry on Saturday launched a reform aimed at enhancing cleanliness in long-distance trains by deploying tech-enabled professional teams. Introducing the reform, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told mediapersons that all coaches, including general class, will be cleaned as and when required. This will be done by establishing clear responsibility and accountability for deployed service providers and engaging professional, self-disciplined and proactive teams that exceed customer expectations. Under the existing Clean Train Station scheme, trains are cleaned at designated stations along their routes. Under the new reform, the cleaning will be carried out throughout the journey at hourly intervals or as required by trained staff deployed onboard, Vaishnaw added. He stated that monitoring, feedback and performance management will be conducted on a real-time basis with the help of technology. The services will include cleaning of all coaches, toilets and basins; garbage
Jindal Stainless has partnered with the Indian Railways to manufacture stainless steel salt containers in the country. The integration of stainless steel into salt transport logistics marks remarkable milestone indicating growing consumption of corrosion free value-added steel in the Railways industry, Jindal Stainless said. In a statement, the company said it has partnered with Indian Railways to develop India's first corrosion-resistant stainless steel salt container. A prototype successfully underwent loading and unloading trials at Bhimasar, Gandhidham, Gujarat on February 10, 2026. The 20-foot salt container has been fabricated entirely in 304 grade stainless steel. Commenting on the partnership, company's Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal said salt transportation is highly vulnerable to corrosion, particularly in coastal environments, leads to frequent repairs, premature asset failure, and significant resource wastage. "With India's container market growing steadily, driven
The Indian Railways has sought final approval from the Centre to begin gauge conversion of the Mhow-Khandwa line in Madhya Pradesh that could lead to felling of over 1.2 lakh trees, officials have said. Once approval is granted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the trees could be cleared for the broad gauge line across dense forests in two districts, they said on Thursday. Officials said the 156-km broad-gauge line will replace the 118-km narrow-gauge track laid during the pre-independence princely state era. The gauge conversion work is ongoing and is expected to be completed within the next two years. In a statement, Mukesh Kumar, public relations officer of Western Railway's Ratlam division, said the remaining gauge conversion work for the roughly 90-km Mhow (Dr Ambedkar Nagar)-Omkareshwar Road section requires final clearance from the central ministry. "Construction will take place on about 454 hectares of forest land between Mhow and ...
On August 15, 1854, a five-coach train pulled by a British-made locomotive left Howrah at 8:30 am for Hooghly without any fanfare -- signalling an engineering triumph and the beginning of eastern India's first railway. However, this historic milestone achieved by the then-East Indian Railway (EIR), whose massive network would eventually reach Delhi by the 1860s, was preceded by a series of unfortunate events that delayed its arrival on the country's landscape and in people's consciousness. A new book on the birth and evolution of the EIR and the East India Railway Company that established it, based on multiple 19th-century-era accounts drawn from a range of archives, has endeavoured to offer an "unbiased narrative" of this railway and the men who built it, brick by brick and steel by steel. "Before the inaugural run, the EIR had already stirred public curiosity in Bengal with its first locomotive-only trial on June 29, 1854, from Howrah to Pandooah, followed by an experimental run o
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said the financial health of the railways department has improved a lot in the last 10 years and it now has a small revenue surplus after meeting all costs. Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said 5.04 lakh jobs were generated during the 2014-24 period while another 1.5 lakh employment is being provided in the third term of the government. Vaishnaw said there have been concerted efforts in the last 10 years to increase freight traffic, enhance passenger revenue, besides controlling cost. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there has been a lot of improvement in the financial health of the Indian Railways in the last 10 years," he said while replying to a question by senior BJP member Laxmikant Bajpayee. Elaborating further, Vaishnaw said the railways staff cost stands around Rs 1.18 lakh crore for about 12 lakh employees while 18 lakh pensioners cost Rs 65,000 ..
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said record allocations have been made for his ministry in the Budget to complete pending projects and undertake new works in all states for people's benefit. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced budgetary support of Rs 2.78 lakh crore and a total capital expenditure of Rs 2.93 lakh crore for the Railways. She also proposed seven high-speed corridors connecting major cities and a new EastWest Dedicated Freight Corridor between Dankuni in West Bengal and Surat in Gujarat. Providing reporters with a state-wise breakup of expenses earmarked for railway projects from the total capital expenditure outlay, Vaishnaw noted that Uttar Pradesh will receive Rs 20,012 crore, Rajasthan Rs 10,228 crore, Madhya Pradesh Rs 15,188 crore, Chhattisgarh Rs 7,470 crore, and Maharashtra Rs 24,000 crore. He also mentioned allocation figures for several other states and ongoing projects to state that these amounts are several times higher than
Cooperative Election Authority (CEA) on Monday called on railway employee cooperative societies to align their bylaws with amended legislation, as the regulator works to strengthen democratic governance in the sector. The meeting brought together representatives from 16 multi-state cooperative societies of railway employees, with more than 40 office bearers attending, the authority said in a statement. The discussions centered on aligning society bylaws with the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023, establishing representative general bodies, and ensuring timely election proposals are submitted at least six months before boards complete their tenures. CEA Chairperson Devendra Kumar Singh said the body has conducted 220 elections since its establishment, with 70 currently underway nationwide. The authority was created following 2023 amendments to oversee electoral rolls and conduct elections in multi-state cooperative societies. India has approximately 18 ...
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first Vande Bharat Sleeper train from West Bengal's Malda on Saturday, the Railway Ministry said that its commercial operations for common passengers will begin soon. "This train is not available for booking for common passengers at present. But efforts are being made in the booking system to include it," a senior railway official said. The date from which the train will be available for general passengers has not yet been decided, he said. Many people who arrived at Assam's Kamakhya railway station to attend the virtual launch of the Vande Bharat Sleeper version by the Prime Minister, who was in Malda to physically flag off one train set, said the Railways should start the train's commercial run as soon as possible so that its benefits can be availed by needy travellers. On January 8, 2026, the ministry released a circular notifying the train's timetable and stoppages. According to the circular, one train set (Train No 27576) will