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The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Research Designs & Standards Organization (RDSO) organised a Conference on Innovative Technologies in Railways today on 28 November 2025 in Lucknow.
The industry experts present in the conference deliberated on the innovations, latest technologies, collaboration and ideation in the railway sector.
Addressing the conference, Chief Guest, *Mr Udit Borwanker* , Director General, Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) mentioned that RDSO is the sole organisation of Indian Railways working on research and design in the area of railway technology since 1957. RDSO frames specifications and vendor development for railway supply items and providing technical solution to Indian Railways. He added that the speed potential of the tracks has grown up tremendously from 75 KMPH to 160 KMPH and further eying to increase it upto 200 KMPH. The coaches which could hardly accommodate 500-700 passengers are now able to accommodate 2000 passengers in a rake. In terms of freight the capacity has risen up from 150 ton / axle to about 250 ton / axle.
He mentioned that all these technological breakthroughs in Indian Railways are also adding to the growth roadmap of Vikasit Bharat by 2047. Given the higher objectives and high quality service delivery there is a lot of potential and scope of industry participation in R&D and technology development in the railway sector. He mentioned that for further modernisation of Indian Railways and for all the future needs such as high speed operations, Indian railways would required high capacity 2×25 KV traction distribution system, advanced signalling & communication system, anti-collision system and high skilled manpower.
Speaking at the Kavach system he said this indigenously developed security and safety system will bring a paradigm shift in the rail mobility system and we are planning to bring the entire rail system under the Kavach ecosystem. RDSO is also partnering with all the IITs and science institutes of India for various projects to explore the potential application of artificial intelligence, sustainable technology development and AI based predictive maintenance.
Speaking at the conference *Mr Abhishek Saraff* , Conference Chairman & Managing Director, Avadh Rail Infra Ltd stated that, Indian Railways has been the prime mover of the nation. India has the fourth-largest railway system in the world, with its network size behind only that of the USA, China and Russia. Indian railways have played a critical role in catalyzing the pace of economic development and continue to be an integral part of the growth engine of the country. He highlighted the remarkable announcements made in the union rail budget 2025-26 such as:
Approval to manufacture 200 new Vande Bharat Trains, 100 Amrit Bharat Trains, 50 Namo Bharat Rapid Rail and 17500 General Non AC Coaches to revolutionize travel experience for masses in next 2 to 3 years,
Indian Railways to become the second highest freight carrying railways in the world aiming to touch target of 1.6 Billion Tonnes of cargo by the end of this fiscal.
Safety investment is expected to reach Rs 1.16 lakh crore in the next financial year and has seen an increase from Rs 1.08 lakh crore to Rs 1.14 lakh crore.
Comprehensive initiative for railway development is represented through PPP investment that amounts to Rs 2.64 lakh crore.
Addressing the session *Mr Sushil Kumar* , Managing Director, Uttar Pradesh Rail Corporation Limited, mentioned that Metro rail com complements the mainstream of rail network if the nation with respect to intercity and intracity commutation is concerned and functions as the twin brothers in taking the country ahead. We are already running in 24 cities of the country and planning to move ahead in a big way as a part of the Vikist Bharat 2047 vision. As part of the vikasit UP 2047, we envisage to add 1500 KM of metro rail network in UP with more than 200 KM alone in Lucknow and 550 KM in Kanpur and Agra. Along with these 7 more cities are planned to be included in the UP-metro rail network to add on the vision of 1 trillion-dollar economy of UP by 2030 and 6 trillion 2047. He mentioned that PM Gati Shakti plan along with national infrastructure mission at the central level has given boost to metro rail corporations across the nation. In the current financial year, a budget outlay of 348 billion was released alone for the metro corporations. Metro rail makes the cities liveable on various parameters and is not just a means of transportation but also a source of greener, faster and sustainable communication system.
Coveying his thoughts *Mr Ranit Rana* , Conference Co-Chair & Associate Vice President (Sales & Distribution), Jindal Stainless Ltd stated that considering the recent growth of Indian railways, it has a promising future. He mentioned that by 2030 the Indian railways would be giving wheel to more than 12 trillion passengers and would be carrying 8.2 billion tons of freight annually. He mentioned that Indian railway is the largest user of stainless steel in India. He mentioned the key focus areas to achieve efficiency viz, choice of new materials, increased capacity, smart operations, advanced manufacturing industry 4.0.
Delivering his address, *Mr Amit Srivastava* , Executive Director – Research, RDSO, said that the ongoing modernization of Indian Railways has created umpteen opportunities for the businesses from within India as well as across the globe. From manufacturers to technological solution providers, from MSMEs to Global Corporations, from small time tea vendor to five star services provided in luxury trains, Indian Railways has a lot to offer to all segments of businesses. He stated that 17 new pairs of Vande Bharat trains were introduced to the IR network, and 228 coaches were produced between April and October 2024. Other than this, 91 Gati Shakti multi-modal Cargo Terminal have been commissioned and 17 projects for the value of ₹16,434 crore have been completed under the PPP model.
As India aims to be Net Zero by 2070, the Indian railways is also doing its bit and has already commissioned 375 MW of solar and 103 MW of wind energy as of October 2024. The aim is to achieve 30 GW of renewable energy by 2029-30. Other than the addition of infrastructure, he highlighted several key initiatives to enhance passenger experience, safety and station amenities which are currently ongoing such as: 1) Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, 2) Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs), 3) One Station One Product Scheme, replacing mechanical signalling with Electrical/Electronic Interlocking systems, 4) Kavach and 5) Automatic Block Signalling
Along with the inaugural session the conference witnessed 3 technical sessions such as: 1) Enhancing speed and throughput of Indian Railways, 2) Emerging opportunities in the railway value chain – Business for the business, 3) Condition monitoring & predictive maintenance in railway.
Close to 200 delegates from the industry along with RDSO, research institutes and academia participated in the conference.
Photo Caption: (L to R): Mr Udit Borwanker, Director General, RDSO, Mr Alok Shukla, Director & State Head, CII Uttar Pradesh, Mr Abhishek Saraff, Conference Chairman & Managing Director, Avadh Rail Infra Ltd, Mr Sushil Kumar, Managing Director, Uttar Pradesh Rail Corporation Limited, Mr Amit Srivastava, Executive Director – Research, RDSO and Mr Ranit Rana, Conference Co-Chair & Associate Vice President (Sales & Distribution), Jindal Stainless Ltd
