Mumbai, February 26 – In a major boost to innovation in Indian Railways, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the Rail Tech Policy and complete digitization of the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT) on Thursday. These reforms mark the third and fourth milestones in the ambitious ’52 Reforms in 52 Weeks’ initiative aimed at transforming the railway network.
The Rail Tech Policy is designed to foster cutting-edge innovations by engaging startups, industries, research institutions, and individual innovators. A dedicated ‘Rail Tech Portal’ will streamline the selection process, offering a user-friendly digital interface for submissions. Key enhancements include tripling the expansion grant and doubling the maximum grant for prototype development and testing.
Highlighting priority sectors, the policy targets AI-based Elephant Intrusion Detection Systems (EIDS), AI fire detection in coaches, drone-based broken rail detection, rail stress monitoring, sensor-based load calculators for parcel vans, solar panels on coaches, AI coach cleaning monitors, obstacle detection in fog, and AI pension dispute resolution systems.
Minister Vaishnaw emphasized that the policy creates a structured pathway for technology integration, moving away from rigid vendor specifications to an innovation-driven model. ‘Any individual with a powerful tech idea can now connect seamlessly through the fully digital portal,’ he stated, underscoring the need for startups and researchers to collaborate meaningfully with Indian Railways.
In the fourth reform, the e-RCT system promises a revolutionary overhaul of claim processes. This AI-enabled digitization will make filing, processing, and resolving claims faster, more transparent, and accessible from anywhere in the country, significantly enhancing efficiency and user experience across the railway ecosystem.