Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced and explained the eight reforms to increase efficiency in Indian Railways (IR) in a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday as follows:
Reform 14: Construction Reforms
IR has undertaken reforms to improve project execution. The reforms are aimed at encouraging serious and capable contractors, improving quality of construction, reducing disputes and ensuring timely completion of railway infrastructure projects.
As part of the reforms, 10 per cent Performance Security will now be obtained at the commencement of the contract instead of being recovered through deductions from running bills. This will ensure that only serious contractors participate in railway projects and strengthen accountability during execution.
To discourage litigation-driven contracting practices, stricter eligibility criteria have also been introduced. Contractors having pending litigation exceeding 50 per cent of their net worth will not be eligible to participate in railway tenders.
The reforms further introduce Contractor’s All Risk Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance to strengthen risk management during project execution and provide protection against construction- related risks.
IR has also established a clearly defined and sequential land handover mechanism to minimise disputes and facilitate timely commencement of projects.
Rail Bhoomi, a web-based platform developed by CRIS for end-to-end management of land acquisition integrates various Railway applications, including IRPSM, IPAS and HRMS, enabling seamless exchange of information, online processing of major land acquisition stages, efficient workflow management and real-time monitoring through dashboards and management information systems. The portal is expected to accelerate land acquisition, improve project planning and facilitate timely execution of railway infrastructure works.
Reform 15: Policy for Wagon Design Approval
A new policy for wagon design approval aimed at promoting innovation and enabling industry participation in designing specialised freight wagons has been announced.
Under the existing system, wagon designs were largely developed by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), with several critical components such as bogies, couplers and braking systems being restricted to prescribed standards. This limited design flexibility and constrained innovation.
Under the new policy, designers, manufacturers and industries will be able to develop and propose wagon designs suited to specific commodities and operational requirements. RDSO will evaluate the proposed design and, upon in-principle approval, permit development of a prototype. After detailed design, prototype manufacturing and rigorous static and dynamic testing, a full rake will undergo field trials before safety certification, inspection by the Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety and approval by the Railway Board for induction into service.
The new framework will facilitate development of specialised wagons for sectors such as steel, petroleum, chemicals, milk, plastics and other industries requiring customized transportation solutions. The reform will create a new ecosystem for wagon design and manufacturing, encourage technological innovation.
Reform 16: Petroleum Products Transportation
Transportation of petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) products requires specialised tank wagons.The existing system, under which IR owned all tank wagons, restricted flexibility for oil companies to introduce specialised wagons suited to their operational requirements.
To address this, IR has removed the structural barriers governing design and induction of petroleum tank wagons. Oil companies will now be able to procure specialised wagons directly or lease them through leasing agencies and induct them on the IR network for specialized requirements.
The reform will enable introduction of specialised tank wagons, improve logistics planning, reduce transportation costs, promote greater movement of petroleum products through rail and minimise risks such as product losses and adulteration.
Reform 17: Foodgrains, Flour and Pulses Transportation
IR has simplified freight charges for transportation of foodgrains, flour and pulses and promoting containerised movement.
Under the new policy, the earlier complex slab-based freight structure has been replaced with a simplified per tonne per kilometre rate structure. It permits transportation of foodgrains, flour and pulses through containers, enabling easier handling, flexible storage and phased distribution based on operational requirements.
Containers can be stored at the premises of sellers or buyers and distributed according to demand, without detaining an entire rake. Since the containers remain sealed, the possibility of contamination is significantly reduced, thereby improving the safety and quality of foodgrain transportation.
The new reforms will bring significant changes in freight transportation, logistics, construction practices, project execution, wagon design, skilling and ease of doing business.
IR had earlier implemented nine structural reforms, covering continuous on-board train cleaning, expansion of Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals, the RailTech policy and portal, digitisation of the Railway Claims Tribunal, specialised containers for salt and automobile transportation, seven construction-quality reforms, simplified ticket cancellation and refund rules, and digital change of boarding point.
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