On December 4, the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tabled the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to grant statutory powers to the Railway Board and enhance the functioning and independence of the body.

“All the provisions in the Indian Railway Board Act, 1905 are proposed to be incorporated in the Railways Act, 1989 through this Bill,” Mr. Vaishnaw had said the previous week while introducing the Bill. 

The railways was separated from the Public Works Department and the Railway Board Act was enacted in 1905, he said. “A contemporary railway law, the Railways Act, was enacted in 1989 by repealing the Indian Railways Act, 1890. However, the Railway Board continued to function through an executive decision without any statutory sanction.” 

“The current Bill proposes to simplify the legal framework by incorporating the proposals of the Indian Railway Board Act, 1905 in the Railways Act, 1989. This will reduce the need to refer to two laws,” Mr. Vaishnaw said in the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill. 

The Bill which retains the current organisational structure of the Indian Railways also includes proposed measures to improve functioning of Railways such as setting up an independent regulator, and giving more powers and autonomy to zones. Expert suggestions to improve Railways’ finances include changing accounting methods, rationalising passenger fares, improving the freight basket, and raising revenue through private partnerships.

While it was being discussed, Congress MP Manoj Kumar expressed his concerns that the new law could lead to Railways’ privatisation. Privatisation of railways would make it “unviable and unaffordable to the poor of the country”, he said. He also added that the ticket prices of the Vande Bharat train should be reduced.

Meanwhile, Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan says that Indian Railways has achieved a lot under PM Modi since 2014 and a corruption-free image of the department has been created.