‘I urge startups, innovators and tech problem-solvers to join the Rail Tech Portal,’ says Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at launch

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday unveiled a 'Rail Tech Portal' to integrate both railways and technology.

About the new Rail Tech Portal

Through the new portal, the Indian Railways will 

Vaishnaw, who holds both the Railways and the Information Technology Ministry offices, said the entire focus will be on implementing new technologies to meet challenges currently faced by the Indian Railways.

"Startups should be able to connect with railways in a very systematic way. People who are doing research should also be able to connect with railways...There is no barrier and anybody can connect with railways. A railtech policy has been started with this aim. The entire process will be digital."

According to the Times of India, innovators can submit their detailed proposals on the new rail tech portal, which will have a user-friendly interface.

The grant to scale up promising ideas from pilot stage to wider deployment or commercialisation has been increased more than threefold, while the maximum funding for prototype development and trials has been doubled.

Presenting the Rail Tech Portal, Vaishnaw outlined key challenges before Indian Railways and urged innovators to develop solutions in areas such as AI-based Elephant Intrusion Detection Systems (EIDS), AI-driven fire detection in coaches, drone-based broken rail detection, rail stress monitoring, sensor-based load calculation in parcel vans, solar panels on coaches, AI-enabled coach cleaning monitoring, fog-time obstruction detection, and AI-based pension and dispute resolution.

In addition to the portal, he launched a citizen-centric digital reform to modernise case processing in the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT).

The system will digitally connect all 23 RCT benches nationwide, enabling litigants to file cases online from anywhere with 24/7 access, while improving efficiency and transparency.

Last month, Vaishnaw chaired a meeting with senior railway officials to unveil a roadmap for introducing 52 major reforms over 52 weeks in 2026.

The “52 Reforms in 52 Weeks” initiative aims to drive structural improvements in efficiency, administration and service delivery.

Hon’ble MR Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw unveiled the new Rail Tech Portal to promote innovation and give impetus to startups, industries and institutions. pic.twitter.com/s896oFW1ID

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) February 26, 2026

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