As part of an ambitious year-long transformation agenda
From 124 to more than 500 in the next five years
Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Mr Ashwini Vaishnaw, has announced that in line with Indian Railways’ resolve to undertake “52 reforms in 52 weeks” during 2026, two new reforms are approved and their implementation will commence immediately. He said that reforms are not one-time events but a continuous process.
He pointed out that the impact is visible today as the Railways has become the second largest cargo carrier in the world, with new generation trains and new ways of working emerging across the system.
One of the reforms is for Better On-Board Services, and the second for more Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals with better facilities to meet freight targets.
Turning to the second reform, the Union Minister
said it builds upon the Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal (GCT) Policy introduced in 2022, which significantly simplified the cargo terminal approval process. Work that earlier took six years began getting completed in approximately three months, and approvals for engineering drawings, signalling plans and electrical plans were streamlined. As a result, 124 multi-modal cargo terminals were developed with an estimated traffic potential of around 200 million tonnes and revenue potential of approximately `20,000 crore annually.
Enhanced reform
Mr Vaishnaw said that after four months of stakeholder consultations based on three years of experience, a substantially enhanced reform has been approved. With this reform, the existing 124 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals are expected to increase to more than 500 in the next five years. He described this as a fundamental reform of even greater magnitude than the 2022 reform.
The most significant addition is the integration of processing within cargo terminals, transforming them into “cargo plus processing” hubs. He explained that cement clinker can be transported to the GCT and ground into cement within the terminal itself, followed by bagging or despatch through Ready-Mix Concrete vehicles. Similarly, food grain processing, stuffing and destuffing, and other value addition
activities can now occur within terminal premises. This eliminates the need to process material elsewhere before bringing it to the terminal, removes artificial barriers, and attracts additional cargo traffic to Railways.
He said that many underutilised goods sheds will be developed as GCTs and cargo facilities. Legacy sidings developed under earlier policies can migrate to the simplified GCT framework. For short connecting stretches between terminals and main lines, where private operators faced difficulty maintaining tracks and electrical systems due to high equipment costs, Railways will now optionally undertake maintenance on a payment basis, improving safety and clarifying maintenance responsibility.
The reform permits expanded common user facilities including Y-connections and rail-over-rail structures. Multi-GCT connectivity has been formalised so that if a new terminal is developed along an existing stretch, connectivity cannot be denied, thereby preventing disputes that earlier led to litigation. A dispute prevention framework has been introduced whereby monthly or milestone-based joint meetings between terminal developers and railway officials will result in joint notes and “no dispute certificates,” reducing the need for arbitration or court cases.
Standard layouts have been incorporated into policy, and applicants adopting standard designs will receive automatic approvals, similar to the telecom reform model where standardisation reduced approval timelines drastically. Contract tenure for GCTs and cargo-related facilities has been extended from 35 years to 50 years, enabling long-term investments and ecosystem development.
The Minister estimated that the reform could generate approximately `30,000 crore in additional revenue over a three-year period through enhanced cargo movement. He cited the example of the cement transportation reform launched in November-December, where bulk cement tonnage more than doubled, with January figures reaching around 95,000 tonnes compared to around 40,000 tonnes last year. He noted that rail-based bulk cement transportation has reduced costs significantly, including reductions of up to 30% in Jammu & Kashmir and nearly half in Mizoram, while also reducing pollution through scientific transport methods.
More to follow
Mr Vaishnaw added that seven more reforms are underway with two to be unveiled this month and three more in early March, and work initiated on another 30-40 reforms. With structural reforms in passenger services and freight logistics, Indian Railways marks the beginning of an ambitious year-long transformation agenda, emphasised an official communique.
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