The Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 has been passed in the Lok Sabha on December 11, 2024 which aims to streamline governance and decision making within the Indian Railways (IR) by granting more autonomy and operational flexibility to Railway Board (RB). The bill focuses to simplify the legal framework by incorporating all the proposals of the Indian Railway Board Act, 1905 with the Railways Act, 1989.
The provisions of the amended bill authorises the Central Government to determine the composition of the RB including the appointment, qualifications, criteria and period of service for the Chairman and other members of the board. Further, to improve the railway operations, an independent regulator will be appointed to oversee tariffs, safety and ensure competitiveness of the IR. The amendment focuses to speed up the approval process for train services and to fast track infrastructure to meet the pending demands for direct train services from various regions, for example, extending the Arunachal Express via the Siwan, Thawe, Kaptanganj, Gorakhpur route, and rerouting of the superfast train services connecting Thawe Junction in Bihar to important cities like Delhi. The Bill also proposes to improve operational efficiencies by granting greater autonomy to Railway Zones.