Railways Unveils Rail Tech Policy, Digitises RCT

New Delhi, Feb 27: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday unveiled the Rail Tech Policy and the complete digitisation of the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT) as Reform Numbers Three and Four under the “52 Reforms in 52 Weeks” initiative of Indian Railways.

The Rail Tech Policy aims to create an innovation-driven ecosystem by engaging startups, industry and institutions through a dedicated Rail Tech Portal with an end-to-end digital process.

The policy simplifies selection norms, increases scale-up grants more than three times, and doubles prototype funding support. The Railways will fund up to 50 per cent of development costs for viable solutions, with large-scale orders for successful innovations.

Key focus areas include AI-based Elephant Intrusion Detection Systems, AI-driven fire detection in coaches, drone-based rail fracture detection, track stress monitoring, AI-enabled CCTV security, obstruction detection in fog, and AI-based pension and dispute resolution systems.

The policy draws inspiration from innovation models such as the iDEX initiative in defence and startup frameworks in the electronics and telecom sectors.

In Reform Number Four, the Minister announced the complete digitisation and AI-enabled transformation of the Railway Claims Tribunal through the E-RCT system. The reform will enable online filing, processing and adjudication of claims across all 23 RCT benches nationwide, allowing passengers to file claims digitally from anywhere in the country. The initiative aims to ensure faster resolution, improved transparency and a citizen-centric justice delivery system within 12 months.