Ministry of Railways has said that focused efforts, innovation and indigenisation are helping transform Indian Railways into a world-class network. The Ministry added that after expanding the luxury of a comfortable travel to non-AC passengers through Amrit Bharat trains, Indian Railways is all set to soon operationalise the first Vande Bharat Sleeper for AC class travellers.

The Ministry said that as on 26th of this month, a total of 164 Vande Bharat train services are running across the Indian Railways network. The Ministry added that this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated 42 projects to the Nation, inaugurated 13 projects and laid the foundation stone for 21 projects worth over 25 thousand crore rupees.

The Dhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), a 272-kilometre project, was completed and dedicated in 2025. It comprises 36 major tunnels and 943 bridges, reflecting exceptional engineering in one of the most challenging terrains in the world. The 51-kilometre Bairabi-Sairang broad-gauge line in Mizoram was inaugurated in September 2025, placing Aizawl on India’s rail map for the first time. Indian Railways is undertaking a series of transformative infrastructure initiatives to enhance capacity, efficiency, and sustainability across the rail network.

Key focus areas include the commissioning of dedicated freight corridors to decongest the conventional network and promotion of Public-Private Partnership models to supplement public investment. The Ministry said that Aadhaar verification of users is an important step which has been taken this year to make the system more robust. It added that cutting-edge technology is also being used to identify and prevent unscrupulous users trying to misuse the e-ticketing system, and as a result, 5.73 crore suspicious and inactive users registered with IRCTC have been deactivated or temporarily suspended.