Ashwini Vaishnaw announces eight reforms to increase freight movement, improve construction quality

These reforms pertain to fly ash transportation, container sector, fertilizer transportation, among others.

Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday announced eight reforms to increase freight transportation and improve the construction quality of the projects. These reforms pertain to fly ash transportation, container sector, fertilizer transportation, construction reform, policy for wagon design, petroleum products transportation and food grain, flour and pulses transportation.

With this, the total number of reforms announced under the initiative “52 reforms in 52 weeks”, launched at the start of the year, has reached 17. Vaishnaw announced that the fly ash will be transported in a closed container, and will not cause pollution during the movement. Currently, fly ash is moved in open wagons and 4% of the annual fly ash generation is transported by the rail.

Apart from this, the minister also announced a single unified license system for container train operator (CTO) licences to run container trains on all routes. Vaishnaw also announced the transportation of fertilizers in containers for easier handling.

“With this, the individual container can be stored at the rake point, instead of detaining the entire rake. The distribution can be done as per the demand and pick up facility of the distributor,” said the minister. The reform allowed the movement of foodgrains, pulses etc. in containers. These reforms also replaced the earlier charging system under different slabs with a per tonne per km rate structure.

Further, in a major policy overhaul for wagons, Vaishnaw said wagon design can be done by the industry now. Currently, Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) develops the wagon design for Indian Railways. Only Indian Railway Standards (IRS) approved components such as bogies, airbrake systems etc. could be used in wagons, which restricts innovation and entry of special design wagons.

“With this reform, now any designer or manufacturer can propose a new wagon design. After the evaluation, the RDSO will give approval for the prototype. Once the prototype is tested, RDSO will allow for a full rake trial. This will help in getting special design wagons for specific industry needs,” said Vaishnaw.

The newly designed wagons can now be inducted for the transportation of Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant (POL) products as well. As of now, the Indian Railways owns all tank wagons and the industry has limited freedom to design and induct new wagons.

Apart from the initiatives for the freight sector, the minister also announced a policy for skilling artisans in railway projects. Under this, different employees such as electrician, fitter, mason, plumber etc. will go through an assessment process to ensure that specialized technical tasks are only handled by validated skilled manpower.

Vaishnaw also said the contractors will have to deposit a 10% performance security in the beginning of the contract. Currently, this security is deducted from the running bill of the project. He also announced a Rail Bhoomi portal for managing the complete process of land acquisition in Railways.

Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with the Business Bureau of The Indian Express. He plays a critical role in covering India's massive infrastructure sectors, providing in-depth reporting on the connectivity lifelines of the nation. Expertise & Focus Areas: Mishra’s journalism is focused on two of the country's most capital-intensive and public-facing ministries: Ministry of Railways: Tracking the operations, safety, and development of India's vast railway network. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways: Covering policy decisions, infrastructure projects, and highway development. What sets Mishra apart is his rigorous use of the Right to Information (RTI) Actas a primary tool for news gathering. By relying on official data and government records, he ensures a high degree of accuracy and trustworthiness in his reporting. This data-driven approach has resulted in numerous impactful reports that hold public institutions accountable and bring transparency to government operations. Find all stories by Dheeraj Mishra here ... Read More

Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday announced eight reforms to increase freight transportation and improve the construction quality of the projects. These reforms pertain to fly ash transportation, container sector, fertilizer transportation, construction reform, policy for wagon design, petroleum products transportation and food grain, flour and pulses transportation.

With this, the total number of reforms announced under the initiative “52 reforms in 52 weeks”, launched at the start of the year, has reached 17. Vaishnaw announced that the fly ash will be transported in a closed container, and will not cause pollution during the movement. Currently, fly ash is moved in open wagons and 4% of the annual fly ash generation is transported by the rail.

Apart from this, the minister also announced a single unified license system for container train operator (CTO) licences to run container trains on all routes. Vaishnaw also announced the transportation of fertilizers in containers for easier handling.

“With this, the individual container can be stored at the rake point, instead of detaining the entire rake. The distribution can be done as per the demand and pick up facility of the distributor,” said the minister. The reform allowed the movement of foodgrains, pulses etc. in containers. These reforms also replaced the earlier charging system under different slabs with a per tonne per km rate structure.

Further, in a major policy overhaul for wagons, Vaishnaw said wagon design can be done by the industry now. Currently, Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) develops the wagon design for Indian Railways. Only Indian Railway Standards (IRS) approved components such as bogies, airbrake systems etc. could be used in wagons, which restricts innovation and entry of special design wagons.

“With this reform, now any designer or manufacturer can propose a new wagon design. After the evaluation, the RDSO will give approval for the prototype. Once the prototype is tested, RDSO will allow for a full rake trial. This will help in getting special design wagons for specific industry needs,” said Vaishnaw.

The newly designed wagons can now be inducted for the transportation of Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant (POL) products as well. As of now, the Indian Railways owns all tank wagons and the industry has limited freedom to design and induct new wagons.

Apart from the initiatives for the freight sector, the minister also announced a policy for skilling artisans in railway projects. Under this, different employees such as electrician, fitter, mason, plumber etc. will go through an assessment process to ensure that specialized technical tasks are only handled by validated skilled manpower.

Vaishnaw also said the contractors will have to deposit a 10% performance security in the beginning of the contract. Currently, this security is deducted from the running bill of the project. He also announced a Rail Bhoomi portal for managing the complete process of land acquisition in Railways.