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Indian Railways
Indian Railways has achieved a significant milestone in its journey towards self-reliant rail technology with the successful completion of the final high-speed trial of the indigenously designed Vande Bharat sleeper train, ministry officials said on Wednesday. "The trial, conducted under the supervision of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), took place on the Kota-Nagda section, where the train achieved a maximum speed of 180 kmph," it added, without specifying a new date for its launch. The Vande Bharat sleeper train has missed several launch deadlines in the past. In mid-November, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that this train would be launched in December 2025. Vaishnaw shared a video of the safety trial on his social media handle X on December 30, showcasing a water-glass stability demonstration, in which glasses filled with water remained steady without spillage even at high speed. "Vande Bharat Sleeper tested today by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, ran at 1
The Railway Ministry will offer 3 per cent discount on purchase of unreserved tickets via RailOne app and payment through any digital mode from January 14 to July 14 in 2026. At present, it gives 3 per cent cashback for booking unreserved tickets through R-wallet payment on RailOne app. "In order to proliferate digital booking, it has been been decided to provide the discount of 3 per cent while booking unreserved tickets through all digital payment modes on RailOne app," read a letter from the ministry on December 30, 2026, addressed to the Centre For Railway Information System (CRIS) for making necessary changes in the software system. "The proposal of 3 per cent discount shall be in force during the period 14.01.2026 to 14.07.2026. CRIS shall furnish the feedback of this proposal in May for further examination," it added. The letter clarified that the existing 3 per cent cashback for bookings through R-wallet on RailOne app will continue. "In the existing system, 3 per cent ...
The Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) in 2025 has introduced 11 new trains, including the first ones connecting Mizoram, a statement said on Tuesday. The new services have improved passenger convenience and enhanced rail connectivity across the Northeast and adjoining areas, it said. Mizoram was put on the country's rail map in September, with the Sairang-Anand Vihar Rajdhani Express commencing weekly services. The Guwahati-Sairang Express was introduced as a daily service, and the Kolkata-Sairang Express started operating on a tri-weekly basis. The Guwahati-North Lakhimpur Jan Shatabdi Express was introduced on a bi-weekly basis, and the New Bongaigaon-Guwahati Passenger on a daily basis. The Tinsukia-Naharlagun Express was introduced as a tri-weekly service. Among the other trains introduced were Sealdah-Jalpaiguri Road Weekly Express, Danapur-Jogbani Vande Bharat Express operating six days a week, Erode-Jogbani Amrit Bharat Express on a weekly basis, and the daily Siliguri-Katih
Indian Railways expanded into some of its toughest terrains in 2025, with landmark projects such as the country's first vertical-lift in Pamban, Tamil Nadu and the world's highest rail bridge on the Chenab river, providing an all-weather rail link to Kashmir. This year also saw rail connectivity reach Mizoram through the commissioning of the Birabi-Sairang line, completing the long-pending links to remote and strategically significant regions in the Northeast. These projects marked a major push towards integrating difficult geographies with the national rail network. In 2025, the Ministry of Railways launched 42 projects in the country, collectively valued at more than Rs 25,000 crore. The railways also operated a record number of special trains, and rapidly expanded Vande Bharat services with 15 new trains introduced during the year. A total of 164 Vande Bharat Express trains now run in the country, the railway ministry said in its year-end review. According to the Ministry of ...
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said the Southern Railway will double train capacity in Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Ernakulam in Kerala by 2030 to meet the growing demand. He announced comprehensive upgrades for coaching terminals in Southern Railway hubs, including Chennai, Coimbatore and Ernakulam (Kochi) to facilitate this. "We are expanding coaching terminals, enhancing sectional and operational capacities in various cities to meet rising passenger demand and reduce congestion. This move will upgrade our railway network and improve nationwide connectivity," a press release issued by Southern Railway quoted the minister as saying. The strategy addresses rapid travel growth through additional platforms, stabling lines, new terminals, maintenance facilities and multi-tracking, it said. Chennai and Coimbatore were among the 48 major cities identified for this time-bound capacity doubling, it added. According to the release, Chennai Egmore station ...
The Railway Ministry has missed the deadline to install the automatic train protection system, Kavach, on the New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah routes by December 2025. However, the officials are hopeful of operationalising the system by 2026. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, which is a highly technology-intensive system. It helps loco pilots in running trains within specified speed limits by the automatic application of brakes in case they fail to do so. According to officials, significant progress has been made with the commissioning of about 25 per cent of the work and installation of crucial components on the remaining routes. "We are doing our level best to operationalise Kavach on the Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata route, hoping that it will be achieved in 2026," officials said. The Railway Ministry on August 7, 2024, said that Kavach work would be completed on the said route by March 2025. It announced the extension of the ...
In view of the rapid, sustained growth in demand for travel, the capacity of major cities to originate new trains needs to be doubled from the current level in the next five years. The current infrastructure needs to be augmented to meet the requirements of the coming years.Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, said, "We're expanding coaching terminals, enhancing sectional and operational capacities in various cities to meet rising passenger demand and reduce congestion. This move will upgrade our railway network and improve nationwide connectivity.''Meanwhile, the works for doubling the originating capacity by the year 2030 would include: Augmenting the current terminals with additional platforms, stabling lines, pit lines, and adequate shunting facilities; Identifying and creating new terminals in and around the urban area; Maintenance facilities, including mega coaching complexes; Increasing ..