New Indian Railways reforms unveiled; new rail tech portal, railway claim tribunal goes digital - check details

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday unveiled new reforms for Indian Railways as part of the ‘Reforms Express’ that PM Narendra Modi has spoken of. The two reforms unveiled today focus on a new rail tech policy, and reforms in disposal of railway claims tribunal cases.

Indian Railways aims to engage innovators, startups, industry, and institutions to promote innovation. The new policy simplifies selection of innovators and a new ‘Rail Tech Portal’ for innovation is being launched. The innovation challenge can be initiated by any innovator or departmental user.

Rail Tech Portal:

• Single-stage detailed submission of proposals by the Innovator
• Scale-up grant increased more than 3 times
• Maximum grant doubled for prototype development and trials
• User friendly interface

Innovation Challenges Listed by Railway Minister

• AI based Elephant Intrusion Detection System (EIDS)

• AI based fire detection system in coaches

• Drone based broken rail detection system

• Rail stress monitoring system

• Sensor based load calculation device on parcel vans (VPUs)

• Solar panel on coaches

• AI based coach cleaning monitoring system

• Obstruction detection in foggy environment

• AI based pension, dispute resolution

Disposal of railway claims tribunal cases

• A citizen centric reform and a digital solution designed to streamline and modernize processing of court cases in Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT)
• It aims to improve efficiency, accessibility, and transparency in all 23 RCT benches to be connected digitally across India
• It will benefit litigants to file their cases from anywhere electronically easily with 24/7 availability

Last month, Vaishnaw had convened a meeting with senior railway officials, during which he unveiled a roadmap to introduce 52 key reforms over 52 weeks in 2026.

Deliberations centred on expanding infrastructure, improving maintenance practices, and increasing network capacity. Officials observed that wide-ranging changes are required within Indian Railways to enhance passenger facilities and strengthen operational safety.

The “52 Reforms in 52 Weeks” initiative is intended to bring structural improvements in efficiency, administration, and service standards.

The press note also pointed to a strong emphasis on safety, with a target of bringing railway accidents down to a single-digit figure from 11 recorded in 2025-26.

Additional measures proposed under the reform agenda include greater use of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, modernisation of talent development and training systems, and improvements in food and catering services.