The Union Minister for Railways announced five new reforms under the Reform Express initiative, taking the 2026 total to nine. The measures include two cargo reforms, one construction reform and two passenger convenience reforms. The objectives are to increase rail freight share, strengthen project delivery and improve ticketing transparency for genuine travellers.

The minister said India produces about 35 million (mn) tonnes (t) of salt annually, of which nine point two mn t move by rail, leaving untapped potential. Modal share is about 25 per cent for industrial salt and about 65 per cent for edible salt. A stainless steel top-loading container with a hydraulic side-discharge mechanism has been developed to prevent corrosion and reduce handling losses, allowing direct loading at production sites and easier multimodal transfer.

Automobile reforms respond to industry concerns over wagon design. India produces about 31 mn units annually, including five mn passenger vehicles, and rail carries about 24 per cent of passenger vehicle traffic. Railways will permit special wagon designs tailored to specific routes and SOD constraints, increasing flexibility for tunnels and bridges. Officials expect outcomes similar to prior changes that raised bulk cement rail tonnage from about 37,000 t to nearly 95,000 t within months.

Construction reforms introduce seven measures to strengthen quality and accountability, raising single-project experience assessment from 35 per cent to 50 per cent of project value and requiring at least 20 per cent railway experience. Bid security is fixed at two per cent, bid capacity assessment is mandatory for projects above Rs100 mn, subcontracting is limited to 40 per cent and bids more than five per cent below estimates must provide an additional five per cent performance guarantee. Ticketing changes include automated refunds, removal of TDR for e-tickets, revision of cancellation windows to 72, 24 and eight hours aligned with charting nine to 18 hours before departure, nationwide counter cancellations, automatic processing of refunds and the ability to change boarding station digitally up to 30 minutes before departure; nearly 30 mn fake IRCTC accounts have been removed.