Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 4: Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday highlighted a year of strong performance for Indian Railways in FY 2025–26, marked by record freight movement, enhanced passenger services, and major strides in infrastructure, safety, and digital innovation.
Freight transportation reached an all-time high of 1,670 million tonnes, reflecting the Railways’ growing capacity to handle essential commodities such as coal, cement, fertilisers, and food grains, thereby supporting critical supply chains across the country.
The minister noted that rail operations remained robust, with nearly 25,000 trains running daily. Additional special trains were deployed during peak periods to improve passenger convenience and accessibility.
On the manufacturing front, Indian Railways produced 1,674 locomotives and 6,677 LHB coaches, reinforcing the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative while also enhancing safety and passenger comfort.
Passenger services saw further modernisation with the expansion of Vande Bharat Express offerings, including the introduction of sleeper variants. These additions complement existing services like Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat trains, especially for long-distance travel.
Safety upgrades continued with the expansion of the indigenous Kavach Automatic Train Protection System, now operational across more than 3,100 route kilometres, with work underway on an additional 24,400 km.
Digital transformation remained a key focus, highlighted by the launch of the RailOne App in July 2025. The app integrates services such as ticket booking, train tracking, and grievance redressal into a single platform. Efforts to enhance transparency also led to the removal of over 3.04 crore suspicious user accounts.
Infrastructure development progressed steadily, with 35 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals commissioned and 119 ????? stations redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
Connectivity improvements were also reported in key regions, including the extension of rail links to Aizawl in Mizoram and better all-weather access to Jammu and Kashmir, further strengthening the national rail network.