Indian Railways has set an ambitious target to increase its freight modal share from the current 24% to 40% within the next decade, as reported by Business Standard. Speaking at the seventh edition of FICCI's Smart Railways Conclave, Future Rail India 2026, Mr Rajesh Agarwal, Additional Member (Works) at the Railway Board, outlined the scale of the challenge. According to Business Standard, the national transporter is now the world's second-largest cargo carrier by volume, moving up from fourth position, even as its share of India's total freight movement remains well below its potential capacity.
The railway network is expected to handle 8,000 billion tonnes of freight demand by 2030, as reported by Business Standard. This projection underscores the significant growth potential in India's freight transportation sector, with railways positioned to play an increasingly crucial role in the country's logistics infrastructure. The current freight demand projections suggest substantial room for growth in railway's market share, with the network currently handling 1.6 billion tonnes of freight annually.
The Railway Board is implementing comprehensive procedural reforms to accelerate project execution, according to Business Standard reports. Key initiatives include ensuring pre-investment work such as land acquisition and forest clearances begin before formal project sanction rather than after. An artificial intelligence-based drawing approval tool developed with RailTel is being implemented to reduce delays in drawing approval sign-off. The ministry is also developing a Public Information Module (PIM) to house all project information on zonal railway websites, available well before tender calling to enable industry partners to explore site conditions and suggest modifications. Additionally, procurement is being centralised with more risk transferred to contractors alongside greater decision-making freedom, and long-term, five-year Project General Management Services contracts will replace shorter supervision arrangements.
Indian Railways currently has 514 sanctioned projects comprising 169 new-line projects, 316 doubling projects, and 29 gauge-conversion projects, covering approximately 40,000 kilometres, as reported by Business Standard. Of this total, only about 12,500 km have been commissioned, leaving 27,000 km outstanding. The Railway Board aims to complete 4,000 to 5,000 km annually, targeting to finish more than 90% of the sanctioned portfolio within five years. These ambitious execution targets require significant mechanisation of track-laying operations at the higher scale now required.
The ministry is calling on manufacturers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to develop construction machinery suited to railways' constrained right of way and standardised precast components, according to Business Standard. Additionally, the Railways ministry is working on revising contract conditions to improve transparency and ensure smooth execution. The reform measures include developing equipment-sharing platforms staffed by trained, certified operators and standardised precast components to mechanise track-laying operations at the scale now required for the railway network's expansion and modernisation goals.
