Railway Ministry

Rites to export in-service diesel locomotives to South Africa: CMD Mithal

RITES Limited, a firm under the Ministry of Railways, for the first time will export in-service diesel locomotives to South Africa from the end of this fiscal year, the company's chairman and managing director, Rahul Mithal, said. Since Indian Railways is almost fully electrified, it is exploring opportunities to export its in-service diesel locomotives, having over 15 years of functional life remaining, he said. RITES has secured orders to export 18 in-service locomotives to South Africa after suitable modifications to suit the country's operational requirements, he said. While RITES has been exporting new locomotives, this is the first time the company has secured an order for the export of in-service locomotives, he added. South Africa follows the Cape Gauge system, where the distance between the tracks is 1,067 mm, whereas India's rail system operates on the Broad Gauge system with a track width of 1,676 mm. "We will deliver the first modified in-service diesel locomotive by .

Railways crossed 1 bn tonne freight loading by November 19 in FY 25-26

Railways' freight performance continues to strengthen India's economic backbone, with cumulative loading this year surpassing the 1 billion-tonne mark, reaching 1,020 million tonnes as of November 19, the Railway Ministry said on Saturday. "This milestone reflects broad-based support from key sectors: coal remains the largest contributor at 505 MT, followed by iron ore (115 MT), cement (92 MT), container traffic (59 MT), pig iron & finished steel (47 MT), fertilisers (42 MT), mineral oil (32 MT), foodgrains (30 MT), raw materials for steel plants (approx. 20 MT), and balance-other-goods (74 MT)," a press note from the ministry stated. "Daily loading continues to hold strong at around 4.4 MT, higher than 4.2 MT last year, demonstrating improved operational efficiency and sustained demand," it added. Drawing a comparison, it emphasised that freight loading between April to October further underscores this positive trajectory, touching 935.1 MT in 2025, compared to 906.9 MT during ..

NMP 2.0: Railways targets ₹2.5 trillion asset monetisation in five years

Plan to bring in new freight trains through private funding

Bengaluru-Kochi Vande Bharat schedule announced, services to begin soon

The Ministry of Railways has announced the schedule for the new BengaluruKochi Vande Bharat Express, which is set to commence operations soon. According to a notification issued by the Railway Board on Friday, train number 26651 KSR BengaluruErnakulam Junction Vande Bharat Express will depart from Bengaluru at 5.10 am and reach Ernakulam Junction at 1.50 pm. The return service, 26652 Ernakulam JunctionKSR Bengaluru, will leave Ernakulam at 2.20 pm and arrive in Bengaluru at 11 pm. The train will have stops at Krishnarajapuram, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Palakkad, and Thrissur. The ministry has instructed the Southern Railway and South Western Railway zones to introduce the service at the earliest possible date. If required, the inaugural train may be operated as a special service which shall pick up its respective link subsequently, the notification said. This will be the third Vande Bharat Express service in Kerala, after the ThiruvananthapuramKasaragod and ...

Jal Shakti, Skills ministries lag as railways lead pack in total spending

Consumer affairs and railways lead FY26 spending so far, as FinMin launches early pre-budget consultations to ensure fiscal prudence and even-paced expenditure

Railways Ministry approves new superfast train on Bengaluru-Mumbai route

BJP leader Tejasvi Surya on Saturday said that the Union Ministry of Railways has approved a new superfast train between Bengaluru and Mumbai, fulfilling a 30-year-old demand of people from both cities. Surya pointed out that despite Bengaluru and Mumbai being two of India's most important economic hubs, the two cities had been connected by only one train, the Udyan Express, which takes over 24 hours to complete the journey. "Very soon, we will be starting a superfast train between Bengaluru and Mumbai. Both cities are major economic hubs and capacity expansion at their stations has now made this possible," Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw was quoted as saying in a statement by Surya's office. Noting that this was a demand pending for 30 years, Surya, who represents the Bengaluru South in Lok Sabha, said, in the last three decades, despite the growth of both cities, we had only one superfast train between Bengaluru and Mumbai. "Last year alone, over 26 lakh people travel

Multiple challenges to Indian Railways' financial sustainability, growth

Despite record capex and growth, the national transporter faces financial sustainability challenges with a precarious operating ratio and slowing incremental freight traffic

Travelling by train? Here's how much baggage you can carry under new rules

As part of a pilot project, passengers will face luggage weight checks, tagging, and fines for oversized bags. The move aims to enforce baggage rules and boost non-fare revenues at major stations

Stampede at New Delhi station caused by falling headload, says Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Rajya Sabha that a falling headload triggered the February 15 stampede at New Delhi station, which killed 18 people; ₹2.01 cr compensation paid

Dropped bag caused stampede that killed 18 at New Delhi station: Vaishnaw

Railways to implement sweeping reforms after the February 15 incident that occurred during rush for Bihar-bound trains amid Maha Kumbh

Cabinet clears ₹11,169 crore for railway multitracking across six states

The four projects span 574 km across 13 districts, enhancing freight movement, easing congestion, and benefiting over 4.4 million people in 2,309 villages

74,000 rail coaches to be equipped with CCTV cameras: Indian Railways

Indian Railways will install CCTV cameras in all 74,000 coaches and 15,000 locomotives, with a focus on improving passenger safety and reducing incidents of crime

Staying home during Covid to be treated as duty for trainees: Rail ministry

The Railway Ministry has clarified that stay-at-home period during COVID-19 lockdown would be counted as duty for trainee railway servants for increments in salaries. "As the Railways are aware, the training period spent by a railway servant, whether on remuneration of stipend or otherwise, is to be treated as duty, provided it is followed by confirmation, for the purposes of increments," read a circular dated July 7, 2025, addressed to all Zonal Railways and production units. The ministry's circular came after one of the Zonal Railways unit sought to know whether the period spent at home during nationwide lockdown due to pandemic be considered as duty also for the purpose of increments. The ministry said that it has already issued instructions in 2020 during the release of held up payments of stipends to the trainee railway servants for the period they had stayed at home during the lockdown due to Covid subject to a condition that this period must not exceed six months. "In view o

Railways revises passenger train base fares effective July 1: Check here

Revised fares for passenger, express, and premium trains take effect from 1 July; suburban fares and other charges remain unchanged as Railways updates ticketing systems

Experts flag delay in railway postings as GMs given 2 zones for 3 months

The general managers of Central and South Coast Railway Zones have been given additional charge by the Ministry of Railways to look after the affairs of Western and South Central zone, respectively, for three months. The GMs of these two zones are superannuating on June 30, 2025. However, the ministry, according to a section of experts, failed to complete the selection process on time. Ministry officials, meanwhile, said the selection process is going on and it is not for the first time that GMs of one zone have been given additional charge of other zones. "It doesn't hamper any work, implementation of plans or decision-making process in any zone," a railway official said. "The Ministry of Railways has decided that Sandeep Mathur, general manager, South Coast Railway, should look after the duties of the post of general manager, South Central Railways, in addition to his own for a period of three months or till posting of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is the

Railways may waive off clerkage charge on waitlisted ticket refund

With millions of tickets cancelled every year, the charge forms a large sum for the railways

Experts call 25% cap on railway waiting list 'uneconomical, impractical'

The Railway's decision to limit the passenger waiting list to 25 per cent of the capacity of each class has been flagged by reservation supervisors, ticket booking clerks and some senior commercial officers as uneconomical for the railways and inconvenient for travellers. The ministry, however, has justified the decision, saying less than one-fourth of the total number of waiting passengers get confirmed berths on an average and the 25 per cent cap has been placed in view of that. "The decision was made after meticulously studying the waiting list confirmation pattern," said Dilip Kumar the Executive Director of Information and Publicity, Railway Board. He highlighted that earlier, there was an allegation that the Railways allowed a lot of passengers to book berths in the waiting category which led to crowding in trains. "It was also alleged that the Railways earned money on ticket cancellation." Refuting the charge, Kumar stressed the Railways was more concerned about passenger ..

Mumbai tragedy: Railways may expand local train services to 4,500 a day

Mulling phaseout of old coaches as retrofitting technically tough, says top official

Tatkal tickets to be available only for Aadhaar-verified users from July 1

The Railways Ministry said allowing only Aadhaar-authenticated users for Tatkal train tickets will help ensure the Tatkal scheme's benefits reach genuine, common users

Railways begin trial to confirm waitlisted tickets 24 hrs before departure

A trial was launched in which the confirmed status of waiting list passengers was announced 24 hours before a train's departure, instead of the current practice of notifying passengers just 4 hours before, the Railway Ministry said on Wednesday. Ministry officials assured that the pilot project would become part of the policy only after receiving a positive response from the passengers. "We have started this pilot project in the Bikaner Division, where charts are being prepared 24 hours before the train departure. The current practice is doing so before 4 hours," Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, said. He noted that this trial was being done keeping in mind the concerns of passengers who remain uncertain about their journey due to a waiting ticket. "Now, if they know 24 hours before that their tickets are confirmed, they can plan their travel better," he added. However, once a ticket is confirmed, passengers will lose a substantial chunk of