Indian Railways expanded freight and safety in 2025, reaching tough terrains like Mizoram with modernised infrastructure.
Indian Railways has successfully expanded into its most challenging terrains, completing landmark projects including the nation’s first vertical-lift bridge at Pamban and the world’s highest rail bridge over the Chenab River. This has established an all-weather link to Kashmir and extended connectivity to Mizoram via the Birabi-Sairang line.
To meet a loading target of 3,000 million tonnes by 2030, wagon production was significantly scaled up, reaching a peak of 41,929 units for the 2024-25 period. Freight operations received a major boost with the operationalisation of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (1,337 km) and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (1,506 km).
Modernisation and Safety:
- Network progress: Electrification of the broad-gauge network reached 99.2 percent completion.
- Safety: Train accidents fell to 11 by November 2025, down from 31 the previous year.
- Fleet expansion: 164 Vande Bharat and 30 Amrit Bharat services are now active, with Vande Bharat Sleeper units expected soon.
- Stations: Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, 1,337 stations are being modernised, with 155 fully upgraded by December 2025.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project reached 55.63 percent physical progress by 30 November 2025. Additionally, the new RailOne app was launched to centralise passenger services, while new reservation reforms now require Aadhaar authentication to secure tickets during the opening 15 minutes of booking.
SOURCE – ET
