From easier tickets to faster freight: Nine Indian Railways reforms set to change travel in 2026

New Delhi: Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Tuesday unveiled five new reforms for 2026 as part of Indian Railways’ ongoing “Reform Express” initiative, bringing the total number of reforms for the year to nine.

Vaishnaw explained that the reforms cover cargo, construction, and passenger convenience, aiming to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the passenger experience.

Boosting rail freight: Salt and automobile transportation

One key reform focuses on salt transportation, with India producing nearly 35 million tonnes annually, of which around 9.2 million tonnes are moved by rail. Vaishnaw noted that the current rail modal share is underutilised, with industrial salt at 25% and edible salt at 65%.

Challenges such as corrosion, unsuitable wagons, water seepage, and multiple handling stages prompted the development of a stainless steel, top-loading, side-discharge container system. These containers allow direct loading at production sites, multimodal transport, and flexible unloading, reducing losses and improving efficiency.

Similarly, reforms targeting automobile transport address constraints in existing wagons, enabling manufacturers to design high-capacity wagons tailored to origin-destination routes. Vaishnaw highlighted that the rail share in passenger vehicle movement is only 24%, leaving significant potential to shift freight from road to rail.

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Construction reforms for quality and accountability

Aimed at enhancing railway project execution, the construction reforms include seven major changes:

1. Raising eligibility thresholds, requiring at least 50% of a project value in prior experience, with 20% in railway-specific projects.
2. Fixing bid security at 2% of project value to discourage frivolous bids.
3. Mandatory bid capacity assessment for projects over Rs 10 crore.
4. Strict punitive provisions against corruption, fraud, and anti-competitive practices.
5. Submission of detailed work plans prior to project commencement.
6. Reducing subcontracting limits from 70% to 40%, ensuring contractors directly execute at least 60% of work.
7. Introducing performance guarantees for bids more than 5% below the estimated cost to prevent predatory pricing.

These measures collectively aim to improve transparency, ensure timely delivery, and enhance quality in railway construction projects.

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Passenger convenience and digital enhancements

Two of the new reforms focus on passenger convenience.

• Ticketing reforms include technology to curb black marketing, bot bookings, and misuse of the Tatkal system, alongside Aadhaar-based OTP verification. Nearly 3 crore fake accounts were removed from IRCTC, improving ticket availability.
• Reservation chart reforms now prepare charts 9–18 hours before departure instead of 4 hours, allowing better planning for waitlisted passengers.
• Counter ticket cancellations can now be done at any station nationwide, and automatic refunds replace manual Ticket Deposit Receipts.
• Passengers can upgrade travel class up to 30 minutes before departure and change boarding stations digitally without losing confirmed seats.

Earlier reforms and initiatives

Previous 2026 reforms include better on-board services, expansion of Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals, the RailTech Policy, and digitisation of the Railway Claims Tribunal (e-RCT). Efforts also focus on cleaning services for general and unreserved coaches, with 86 trains already identified for the pilot phase.

Union Minister Vaishnaw stated these reforms are designed to enhance operational efficiency, boost freight share, encourage innovation, and improve passenger experience, reflecting Indian Railways’ commitment to modernisation and sustainable growth.

ANI

Published: 24 Mar 2026, 10:49 pm IST

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