Ministry
Ministry of Railways
The Ministry of Railways is the Government of India's nodal ministry for rail transport. Through the Railway Board it owns, operates and regulates Indian Railways — one of the world's largest rail networks under single management — as a departmental undertaking of the state. It sets rail policy, commands one of the largest single lines in the Union Budget's capital outlay, and directly employs over a million people.
Updated
- Headquarters
- Rail Bhavan, New Delhi
- Network
- Over 68,000 route km; 18 zonal railways
- Capital outlay 2025-26
- ~Rs 2.65 lakh crore
- Workforce
- ~1.2 million
Role
The Ministry of Railways runs Indian Railways as a departmental commercial undertaking of the Government of India — the state is at once the owner, operator and regulator of the network. Policy and administration flow through the Railway Board, the ministry’s apex executive body, which since a 2019 restructuring is organised around a Chairman & CEO and members for operations and business development, infrastructure, traction and rolling stock, and finance. Below the board, the network is administered through 18 zonal railways and dedicated production units for locomotives and coaches.
Railways is a seat of power in the Indian state for three reasons: it is one of the country’s largest employers, with a workforce of roughly 1.2 million; it commands one of the single largest capital-expenditure lines in the Union Budget; and it is the backbone of both mass passenger mobility and bulk freight haulage that the wider economy depends on. Its modernisation programme — the Vande Bharat trainsets, the Kavach train-protection system, near-total electrification, and record capital outlays — is presented by the current government as a flagship, and is the live thread this desk tracks.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
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Railway Board constituted
The railway branch of the Public Works Department was transferred to a newly created Railway Board, establishing central administration of India's railways under the Indian Railway Board Act.
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Zonal reorganisation of a nationalised network
The princely-state and company railways of British India were regrouped into a nationalised, zone-based Indian Railways.
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Standalone Ministry of Railways
Railways, previously grouped under the Ministry of Transport, became an independent ministry headed by its own cabinet minister.
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Separate Railway Budget merged into the Union Budget
The decades-old practice, running since 1924, of presenting a distinct Railway Budget ended; rail finances were folded into the general Union Budget from 2017-18.
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First Vande Bharat Express enters service
India's first indigenously built semi-high-speed self-propelled trainset, designed and built at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, began commercial running.
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Balasore triple-train collision
A collision near Bahanaga Bazar in Odisha killed 296 people, one of India's deadliest rail disasters, intensifying scrutiny of signalling and safety spending. Indian Railways' preliminary inquiry attributed it to a signalling-circuit lapse.
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Broad-gauge network approaches full electrification
The ministry reported broad-gauge electrification at about 99.6% (roughly 69,900 route km), up from about 21,801 route km electrified in 2014, with only a few hundred route km residual across five states, under its 'Mission 100% Electrification' programme. The ministry's PIB release on the programme put the figure at about 99.2%.
Frequently asked
- What is Ministry of Railways?
- The Ministry of Railways is the Government of India's nodal ministry for rail transport. Through the Railway Board it owns, operates and regulates Indian Railways — one of the world's largest rail networks under single management — as a departmental undertaking of the state. It sets rail policy, commands one of the largest single lines in the Union Budget's capital outlay, and directly employs over a million people.
- When was Ministry of Railways established?
- Ministry of Railways was established 1905.
- What does Ministry of Railways do?
- Its remit covers Policy, administration and regulation of Indian Railways, Passenger and freight rail operations across the zonal railways, Network expansion, track renewal and electrification, Rolling-stock design and production (Vande Bharat, LHB coaches, locomotives), Rail safety, signalling and the Kavach train-protection programme.
- What is the latest on Ministry of Railways?
- As of 2026-07-05: Broad-gauge network approaches full electrification. The ministry reported broad-gauge electrification at about 99.6% (roughly 69,900 route km), up from about 21,801 route km electrified in 2014, with only a few hundred route km residual across five states, under its 'Mission 100% Electrification' programme. The ministry's PIB release on the programme put the figure at about 99.2%.