 Branch of Government of India | |
 Ministry of Railways | |
 Rail Bhavan in New Delhi, the seat of the Ministry of Railways | |
| Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | March 1905 (1905-03) |
| Jurisdiction | Government of India |
| Headquarters | Rail Bhavan 1, Raisina Road,New Delhi,India |
| Employees | 1,212,882 (2022)[1] |
| Annual budget | ₹299,059 crore (US$35 billion) (2025–26) |
| Minister responsible | |
| Deputy Ministers responsible | |
| Ministry executive |
|
| Child agencies | |
| Website | www |
TheMinistry of Railways is a ministry in theGovernment of India, responsible for thecountry's rail transport. TheIndian Railways is the rail network operated and administered by the Railway Board constituted by the ministry. The ministry along with the Railway Board is housed insideRail Bhawan inNew Delhi. It is headed by theMinister of Railways. With more than 1.2 million employees, it is one of the world'slargest employers.
The firstrailway track was operational inMadras in 1837 and the first passenger train ran inBombay in 1853.[4][5] But the earlier railways were operated by private companies with the earliest being theMadras Railway established in 1845 and theGreat Indian Peninsular Railway incorporated in 1849.[6] In October 1901, the Secretary of State for India in Council appointed Thomas Robertson as a special commissioner for Indian Railways to prepare a report on the administration of Indian Railways.[7] In his report in 1903, Thomas recommended setting up of a three-member Railway Board headed by a chief commissioner.[7] In March 1905, the railway branch of thePublic Works Department was transferred to the newly established railway board under thedepartment of commerce and industry by the Indian Railway Board Act.[8] In 1908, the set up was re-organized on the recommendations of the Railway Finance Committee (1908) by constituting the railway board headed by a president as a separate department.[7] Pursuant to theAcworth committee's recommendations in 1921, the railway board was expanded to four members with the addition of a financial commissioner in 1924 apart from the chief commissioner, one commissioners responsible for ways and works, projects and stores and the other responsible for general administration, staff and traffic.[7]
In 1929, an additional member was added to the board and was assigned the responsibility for staff, so that the member in charge of traffic could focus solely on transport and commercial matters.[9] In 1944, all the railway companies were taken over by the Government.[10] The ministry of railways was part of the Ministry of Transport after the independence in 1947 andJohn Mathai served as its first minister from 1947 till 1948.[11][12] On 22 September 1948,N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar was appointed as the minister of the newly renamed Ministry of Railways and Transport.[13] On 17 April 1957,Jagjivan Ram became the first to head the standalone Minister of Railways.[14]
In December 1950, the Central Advisory Committee for Railways approved the plan for re-organising Indian Railways into sixregional zones and re-constituting the railway board to four members with the senior-most functional member appointed the chairman of the board with no absolute over riding power.[15][16] In October 1954, the chairman of the board was made responsible for decisions on technical and policy matters, with the status of a principal secretary to theGovernment of India with an additional member added.[16]
The board was expanded with an additional member responsible for electrical engineering in 1972 and a further member responsible for health in 1976.[17]
The Ministry of Railways was merged with theMinistry of Shipping and Transport and theDepartment of Civil Aviation on 25 September 1985 to form theMinistry of Transport andBansi Lal, who served as the Railways Minister prior to the merger became the first holder of the new office.[18] However, on 22 October 1986, the Ministry of Railways was again separated into an independent ministry and has been the same since then.[14][19]
In 2004, the board is expanded by the introduction of two new members responsible for signalling & telecom and for stores respectively.[20] In December 2019, theUnion Cabinet decided to reduce the size of the board from eight to five.[21]
The firstrailway budget was presented in 1924.[6] Since then, Railway budget was presented as a standalone budget every year before theunion budget by the Railway Minister till 2016.[22] The lastRailway Budget was presented on 25 February 2016 and on 21 September 2016, Government of India approved merger of the rail and general budgets from 2017.[23] The railway budget was estimated to be₹264,600 crore (US$31 billion) for the financial year 2023–24.[24]
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| Minister of Railways | Ashwini Vaishnaw |
| Minister of State, Railways | V. Somanna,Ravneet Singh Bittu |
| Chairman and CEO of Railway Board | Satish Kumar |
The ministry has aunion minister and one or moreministers of state.[25] The railway board reports to the union ministry with the directorates oftraction,engineering,traffic,rolling stock,signalling,materials,personnel,Railway Protection Force (RPF),finance,health andsafety reporting to the board.[26]Indian Railways is a statutory body that reports toparliament and is under theownership of ministry of railways.[27] Indian Railways is further divided into 18 administrative zones (17 operational), headed by general managers who report to the board along with the heads of other institutions and undertakings owned by the Indian Railways.[26] The railway board consists of achairman, four members responsible for operations, business development, human resources, infrastructure and finance respectively.[28] Also part of the board are four director generals responsible for human resources, health, RPF and safety respectively.[28]
The firstrailway budget was presented in 1924.[6] Since then, Railway budget was presented as a standalone budget every year before theunion budget till 2016.[29] The lastRailway Budget was presented on 25 February 2016 and on 21 September 2016, Government of India approved merger of the rail and general budgets from 2017.[30] The railway budget is estimated to be₹264,600 crore (US$31 billion) for the financial year 2023–24.[31]
| India Minister of Railways | |
|---|---|
| Rail Mantrī | |
| |
 | |
| Ministry of Railways | |
| Member of | Cabinet of India |
| Reports to | President of India Prime Minister of India Parliament of India |
| Appointer | President of India on the recommendation of thePrime Minister of India |
| Formation | 1947 (1947) |
| First holder | John Matthai (as Minister of Transport) |
| Deputy | Minister of State for Railways |
TheMinister of Railways (Hindi:Rail Mantrī) is the head of the ministry and a member of theunion council of ministers of India. The position of the Minister of Railways is usually held by a minister of cabinet rank and is often assisted by one or two junior Ministers of State.[32]
John Mathai was the first Minister of Railways.[12]Lal Bahadur Shastri who served as the Minister of Railways and Transport from 1952 until 1956 became the secondPrime Minister of India in 1964.[33] Four prime ministers, namelyRajiv Gandhi,P. V. Narasimha Rao,Atal Bihari Vajpayee (twice) andManmohan Singh (twice) have briefly held the portfolio of the Minister of Railways during their premiership.[14]Mohsina Kidwai was the first female to hold the charge of the ministry (as Minister of Surface Transport) whileMamata Banerjee is the first female to have served as the Minister of Railways.[14]Madhavrao Scindia andRam Naik are the only people to have served as Ministers of State for Railways with an Independent charge.Lalit Narayan Mishra is the only cabinet minister to die in office after being assassinated in a bomb blast in 1975,[34] whileSuresh Angadi is the only minister of state to die in office.[35]
The current Minister of Railways isAshwini Vaishnaw of theBharatiya Janata Party who has been in office since 7 July 2021 whileV. Somanna andRavneet Singh are the ministers of state for railways.[36]
| Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Period | ||||||
| Minister of Transport | ||||||||
 | John Mathai (1886–1959) | 15 August 1947 | 22 September 1948 | 1 year, 38 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
| Minister of Transport and Railways | ||||||||
 | N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar (1882–1953) MP forMadras (Interim) | 22 September 1948 | 13 May 1952 | 3 years, 234 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
.jpg) | Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904–1966) Rajya Sabha MP forUttar Pradesh | 13 May 1952 | 7 December 1956 | 4 years, 208 days | Nehru II | |||
 | Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) MP forShahabad South | 7 December 1956 | 17 April 1957 | 131 days | ||||
| Minister of Railways | ||||||||
| Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) MP forSasaram | 17 April 1957 | 10 April 1962 | 4 years, 358 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru III | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
 | Swaran Singh (1907–1994) MP forJullundur | 10 April 1962 | 1 September 1963 | 1 year, 144 days | Nehru IV | |||
 | H. C. Dasappa (1894–1964) MP for Bangalore | 1 September 1963 | 27 May 1964 | 282 days | ||||
| 27 May 1964 | 9 June 1964 | Nanda I | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | |||||
.jpg) | S. K. Patil (1898–1981) MP forMumbai South | 9 June 1964 | 11 January 1966 | 2 years, 277 days | Shastri | Lal Bahadur Shastri | ||
| 11 January 1966 | 24 January 1966 | Nanda II | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | |||||
| 24 January 1966 | 13 March 1967 | Indira I | Indira Gandhi | |||||
 | C. M. Poonacha (1910–1990) MP forMangalore | 13 March 1967 | 14 February 1969 | 1 year, 338 days | Indira II | |||
 | Ram Subhag Singh (1917–1980) MP forBuxar | 14 February 1969 | 4 November 1969 | 263 days | ||||
 | Panampilly Govinda Menon (1906–1970) MP forMukundapuram | 4 November 1969 | 18 February 1970 | 106 days | Indian National Congress (R) | |||
 | Gulzarilal Nanda (1898–1998) MP forKurukshetra | 18 February 1970 | 18 March 1971 | 1 year, 28 days | ||||
 | Kengal Hanumanthaiah (1908–1980) MP forBangalore City | 18 March 1971 | 22 July 1972 | 1 year, 126 days | Indira III | |||
 | T. A. Pai (1922–1981) Rajya Sabha MP forKarnataka | 22 July 1972 | 5 February 1973 | 198 days | ||||
.jpg) | Lalit Narayan Mishra (1923–1975) MP forDarbhanga | 5 February 1973 | 3 January 1975[†] | 1 year, 332 days | ||||
 | Kamalapati Tripathi (1905–1990) Rajya Sabha MP forUttar Pradesh | 10 February 1975 | 23 March 1977 | 2 years, 41 days | ||||
 | Madhu Dandavate (1924–2005) MP forRajapur | 26 March 1977 | 28 July 1979 | 2 years, 124 days | Janata Party | Desai | Morarji Desai | |
| T. A. Pai (1922–1981) MP forUdipi | 28 July 1979 | 14 January 1980 | 170 days | Janata Party (Secular) | Charan Singh | Charan Singh | |
| Kamalapati Tripathi (1905–1990) MP forVaranasi | 14 January 1980 | 12 November 1980 | 303 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Indira IV | Indira Gandhi | |
 | Kedar Pandey (1920–1982) MP forBettiah | 12 November 1980 | 15 January 1982 | 1 year, 64 days | ||||
 | Prakash Chandra Sethi (1919–1996) MP forIndore | 15 January 1982 | 2 September 1982 | 230 days | ||||
 | A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury (1927–2006) MP forMalda | 2 September 1982 | 31 October 1984 | 2 years, 59 days | ||||
| 4 November 1984 | 31 December 1984 | 57 days | Rajiv I | Rajiv Gandhi | ||||
.jpg) | Bansi Lal (1927–2006) MP forBhiwani | 31 December 1984 | 25 September 1985 | 268 days | Rajiv II | |||
| Minister of Transport | ||||||||
| Bansi Lal (1927–2006) MP forBhiwani | 25 September 1985 | 4 June 1986 | 252 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Rajiv II | Rajiv Gandhi | |
 | Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) MP forAmethi (Prime Minister) | 4 June 1986 | 24 June 1986 | 20 days | ||||
.jpg) | Mohsina Kidwai (born 1932) MP forMeerut | 24 June 1986 | 22 October 1986 | 120 days | ||||
| Minister of Railways | ||||||||
 | Madhavrao Scindia (1945–2001) MP forGwalior (MoS, I/C) | 22 October 1986 | 2 December 1989 | 3 years, 41 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Rajiv II | Rajiv Gandhi | |
.jpg) | George Fernandes (1930–2019) MP forMuzaffarpur | 6 December 1989 | 10 November 1990 | 339 days | Janata Dal | V. P. Singh | V. P. Singh | |
 | Janeshwar Mishra (1933–2010) MP forAllahabad | 21 November 1990 | 21 June 1991 | 212 days | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | Chandra Shekhar | Chandra Shekhar | |
.JPG) | C. K. Jaffer Sharief (1933–2018) MP forBangalore North | 21 June 1991 | 17 August 1995 | 4 years, 57 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Rao | P. V. Narasimha Rao | |
(2).jpg) | P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP forNandyal (Prime Minister) | 18 August 1995 | 16 May 1996 | 272 days | ||||
.jpg) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP forLucknow (Prime Minister) | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | 16 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee I | Self | |
.jpg) | Ram Vilas Paswan (1946–2020) MP forHajipur | 1 June 1996 | 21 April 1997 | 1 year, 291 days | Janata Dal | Deve Gowda | H. D. Deve Gowda | |
| 21 April 1997 | 19 March 1998 | Gujral | Inder Kumar Gujral | |||||
 | Nitish Kumar (born 1951) MP forBarh | 19 March 1998 | 5 August 1999 | 1 year, 139 days | Samata Party | Vajpayee II | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
 | Ram Naik (born 1934) MP forMumbai North (MoS, I/C) | 6 August 1999 | 13 October 1999 | 161 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | |||
_(cropped).JPG) | Mamata Banerjee (born 1955) MP forCalcutta South | 13 October 1999 | 16 March 2001 | 1 year, 154 days | Trinamool Congress | Vajpayee III | ||
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP forLucknow (Prime Minister) | 16 March 2001 | 20 March 2001 | 16 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | |||
| Nitish Kumar (born 1951) MP forBarh | 20 March 2001 | 22 May 2004 | 3 years, 63 days | Janata Dal (United) | |||
.jpg) | Lalu Prasad Yadav (born 1948) MP forChapra | 23 May 2004 | 22 May 2009 | 4 years, 364 days | Rashtriya Janata Dal | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | |
| Mamata Banerjee (born 1955) MP forKolkata Dakshin | 23 May 2009 | 19 May 2011 | 1 year, 361 days | Trinamool Congress | Manmohan II | ||
 | Manmohan Singh (1932–2024) Rajya Sabha MP forAssam (Prime Minister) | 19 May 2011 | 12 July 2011 | 54 days | Indian National Congress | |||
 | Dinesh Trivedi (born 1950) MP forBarrackpore | 12 July 2011 | 19 March 2012 | 251 days | Trinamool Congress | |||
 | Mukul Roy (born 1954) Rajya Sabha MP forWest Bengal | 20 March 2012 | 22 September 2012 | 186 days | ||||
 | C. P. Joshi (born 1950) MP forBhilwara | 22 September 2012 | 28 October 2012 | 36 days | Indian National Congress | |||
 | Pawan Kumar Bansal (born 1948) MP forChandigarh | 28 October 2012 | 11 May 2013 | 195 days | ||||
| C. P. Joshi (born 1950) MP forBhilwara | 11 May 2013 | 15 June 2013 | 35 days | ||||
| Manmohan Singh (1932–2024) Rajya Sabha MP forAssam (Prime Minister) | 15 June 2013 | 17 June 2013 | 2 days | ||||
 | Mallikarjun Kharge (born 1942) MP forGulbarga | 17 June 2013 | 26 May 2014 | 343 days | ||||
 | D. V. Sadananda Gowda (born 1953) MP forBangalore North | 27 May 2014 | 9 November 2014 | 166 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | Narendra Modi | |
.jpg) | Suresh Prabhu (born 1953) Rajya Sabha MP forHaryana, till 2016 Rajya Sabha MP forAndhra Pradesh, from 2016 | 9 November 2014 | 3 September 2017 | 2 years, 359 days | ||||
 | Piyush Goyal (born 1964) Rajya Sabha MP forMaharashtra | 3 September 2017 | 30 May 2019 | 3 years, 307 days | ||||
| 31 May 2019 | 7 July 2021 | Modi II | ||||||
 | Ashwini Vaishnaw (born 1970) Rajya Sabha MP forOdisha | 7 July 2021 | 9 June 2024 | 4 years, 140 days | ||||
| 10 June 2024 | Incumbent | Modi III | ||||||
| Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Period | ||||||
| Minister of State for Transport and Railways | ||||||||
| K. Santhanam (1895–1980) MP forMadras (Constituent Assembly) | 1 October 1948 | 29 May 1952 | 3 years, 241 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Jawaharlal Nehru | ||
| Minister of State for Railways | ||||||||
| Ram Subhag Singh (1917–1980) MP forBikramganj | 13 May 1964 | 27 May 1964 | 2 years, 304 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru IV | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
| 27 May 1964 | 9 June 1964 | Nanda I | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | |||||
| 9 June 1964 | 11 January 1966 | Shastri | Lal Bahadur Shastri | |||||
| 11 January 1966 | 24 January 1966 | Nanda II | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | |||||
| 24 January 1966 | 13 March 1967 | Indira I | Indira Gandhi | |||||
| Parimal Ghosh (1917–1985) MP forGhatal | 13 March 1967 | 17 October 1969 | 2 years, 218 days | Indira II | ||||
.jpg) | Mohammad Shafi Qureshi (1928–2016) MP forAnantnag | 10 October 1974 | 23 March 1977 | 2 years, 164 days | Indian National Congress (R) | Indira III | Indira Gandhi | |
 | Surendra Pal Singh (1917–2009) MP forBulandshahr | 23 December 1976 | 24 March 1977 | 91 days | ||||
| Sheo Narain (1913–1987) MP forBasti | 14 August 1977 | 28 July 1979 | 1 year, 348 days | Janata Party | Desai | Morarji Desai | ||
| C. K. Jaffer Sharief (1933–2018) MP forBangalore North | 14 January 1980 | 31 October 1984 | 4 years, 291 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Indira IV | Indira Gandhi | |
| Madhavrao Scindia (1945–2001) MP forGwalior | 31 December 1984 | 25 September 1985 | 268 days | Rajiv II | Rajiv Gandhi | ||
| Minister of State for Transport – Department of Railways | ||||||||
| Madhavrao Scindia (1945–2001) MP forGwalior | 25 September 1985 | 22 October 1986 | 1 year, 27 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Rajiv II | Rajiv Gandhi | |
| Minister of State for Railways | ||||||||
| Bhakta Charan Das (born 1958) MP forKalahandi | 21 November 1990 | 21 June 1991 | 212 days | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | Chandra Shekhar | Chandra Shekhar | ||
| Mallikarjun Goud (1941–2002) MP forMahabubnagar | 21 June 1991 | 18 January 1993 | 1 year, 211 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Rao | P. V. Narasimha Rao | ||
.jpg) | Kahnu Charan Lenka (born 1939) Rajya Sabha MP forOdisha | 18 January 1993 | 2 April 1994 | 1 year, 74 days | ||||
| Mallikarjun Goud (1941–2002) MP forMahabubnagar | 21 August 1995 | 19 September 1995 | 29 days | |||||
 | Suresh Kalmadi (born 1944) Rajya Sabha MP forMaharashtra | 15 September 1995 | 16 May 1996 | 244 days | ||||
 | Satpal Maharaj (born 1951) MP forGarhwal | 6 July 1996 | 21 April 1997 | 338 days | All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) | Deve Gowda | H. D. Deve Gowda | |
| 21 April 1997 | 9 June 1997 | Gujral | Inder Kumar Gujral | |||||
| Ram Naik (born 1934) MP forMumbai North | 19 March 1998 | 6 August 1999 | 1 year, 140 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee II | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
 | Digvijay Singh (1955–2010) MP forBanka | 13 October 1999 | 22 July 2001 | 1 year, 282 days | Samata Party | Vajpayee III | ||
| Bangaru Laxman (1939–2014) Rajya Sabha MP forGujarat | 22 November 1999 | 31 August 2000 | 283 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | ||||
 | O. Rajagopal (born 1929) Rajya Sabha MP forMadhya Pradesh | 31 August 2000 | 1 July 2002 | 1 year, 304 days | ||||
| Digvijay Singh (1955–2010) MP forBanka | 1 August 2001 | 1 July 2002 | 334 days | Samata Party | |||
.jpg) | A. K. Moorthy (born 1964) MP forChengalpattu | 1 July 2002 | 15 January 2004 | 1 year, 198 days | Pattali Makkal Katchi | |||
_International_Labour_Organization%2c_Ms._Deborah_Greenfield_meeting_the_Minister_of_State_for_Labour_and_Employment_(Independent_Charge)%2c_Shri_Bandaru_Dattatreya%2c_in_New_Delhi_(cropped).jpg) | Bandaru Dattatreya (born 1947) MP forSecunderabad | 1 July 2002 | 8 September 2003 | 1 year, 69 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | |||
| Basangouda Patil Yatnal (born 1963) MP forBijapur | 8 September 2003 | 22 May 2004 | 257 days | |||||
.jpg) | Naranbhai Rathwa (born 1953) MP forChhota Udaipur | 23 May 2004 | 22 May 2009 | 4 years, 364 days | Indian National Congress | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | |
.jpg) | R. Velu (born 1940) MP forArakkonam | 23 May 2004 | 29 March 2009 | 4 years, 310 days | Pattali Makkal Katchi | |||
 | E. Ahamed (1938–2017) MP forMalappuram | 28 May 2009 | 19 January 2011 | 1 year, 236 days | Indian Union Muslim League | Manmohan II | ||
 | K. H. Muniyappa (born 1948) MP forKolar | 28 May 2009 | 28 October 2012 | 3 years, 153 days | Indian National Congress | |||
.jpg) | Bharatsinh Solanki (born 1953) MP forAnand | 19 January 2011 | 28 October 2012 | 1 year, 283 days | ||||
| Mukul Roy (born 1954) Rajya Sabha MP forWest Bengal | 19 May 2011 | 12 July 2011 | 54 days | All India Trinamool Congress | |||
 | Kotla Jayasurya Prakasha Reddy (born 1951) MP forKurnool | 28 October 2012 | 26 May 2014 | 1 year, 210 days | Indian National Congress | |||
.jpg) | Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (born 1956) MP forBaharampur | |||||||
 | Manoj Sinha (born 1959) MP forGhazipur | 27 May 2014 | 30 May 2019 | 5 years, 3 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | Narendra Modi | |
.jpg) | Rajen Gohain (born 1950) MP forNowgong | 5 July 2016 | 30 May 2019 | 2 years, 329 days | ||||
 | Suresh Angadi (1955–2020) MP forBelgaum | 31 May 2019 | 23 September 2020[†] | 1 year, 115 days | Modi II | |||
.jpg) | Raosaheb Danve (born 1955) MP forJalna | 7 July 2021 | 9 June 2024 | 2 years, 338 days | ||||
.jpg) | Darshana Jardosh (born 1961) MP forSurat | |||||||
 | V. Somanna (born 1950) MP forTumkur | 10 June 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 167 days | Modi III | |||
 | Ravneet Singh Bittu (born 1975) Rajya Sabha MP forRajasthan | |||||||
| No. | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Period | |||||||
| Deputy Minister for Transport and Railways | |||||||||
| 1 |  | B. V. Keskar (1903–1984) MP forMadras (Constituent Assembly) | 10 March 1952 | 13 May 1952 | 64 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
| 2 |  | O. V. Alagesan (1911–1992) MP forChengalpattu | 12 August 1952 | 16 April 1957 | 4 years, 247 days | Nehru II | |||
| 3 |  | Shah Nawaz Khan (1914–1993) MP forMeerut | 20 September 1956 | 17 April 1957 | 209 days | ||||
| Deputy Minister for Railways | |||||||||
| (3) | | Shah Nawaz Khan (1914–1993) MP forMeerut | 17 April 1957 | 10 April 1962 | 4 years, 358 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru III | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
| 4 | S. V. Ramaswamy MP forSalem | 2 April 1958 | 4 years, 8 days | ||||||
| (3) | | Shah Nawaz Khan (1914–1993) MP forMeerut | 16 April 1962 | 27 May 1964 | 2 years, 41 days | Nehru III | |||
| (4) | S. V. Ramaswamy MP forSalem | ||||||||
| (3) | | Shah Nawaz Khan (1914–1993) MP forMeerut | 27 May 1964 | 9 June 1964 | 13 days | Nanda I | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | ||
| (4) | S. V. Ramaswamy MP forSalem | ||||||||
| 5 | Sham Nath MP forChandni Chowk | 15 June 1964 | 11 January 1966 | 2 years, 271 days | Shastri | Lal Bahadur Shastri | |||
| 11 January 1966 | 24 January 1966 | Nanda II | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | ||||||
| 24 January 1966 | 13 March 1967 | Indira I | Indira Gandhi | ||||||
| 6 | .jpg) | S. C. Jamir (born 1931) MP forNagaland | 13 March 1967 | 14 November 1967 | 246 days | Indira II | |||
| 7 | Rohanlal Chaturvedi (1919–?) MP forEtah | 14 November 1967 | 18 March 1971 | 3 years, 124 days | |||||
| 8 | .jpg) | Mohammad Yunus Saleem (1912–2004) MP forNalgonda | 27 June 1970 | 18 March 1971 | 264 days | Indian National Congress (R) | |||
| 9 | | Mohammad Shafi Qureshi (1928–2016) Anantnag | 2 May 1971 | 10 October 1974 | 3 years, 161 days | Indira III | |||
| 10 | .jpg) | Buta Singh (1934–2021) MP forRopar | 10 October 1974 | 23 December 1976 | 2 years, 74 days | ||||
| Deputy Minister for Railways | |||||||||
| 11 | %2c_in_New_Delhi_on_July_16%2c_2008.jpg) | Mahaveer Prasad (1939–2010) MP forBansgaon | 14 February 1988 | 4 July 1989 | 1 year, 140 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Rajiv II | Rajiv Gandhi | |
| 12 | Ajay Singh (1950–2020) MP forAgra | 23 April 1990 | 10 November 1990 | 201 days | Janata Dal | Vishwanath | V. P. Singh | ||
| Position not in use since 10 November 1990 | |||||||||
On 14 February 2008,Westinghouse Air Brake, admitted to a US federal court of violatingForeign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) regulations by making improper payments from its subsidiary Pioneer Friction based inKolkata, to government officials of theIndian railway board to obtain and retain business with the Railway Board and curb taxes.[41]
On 3 May 2013, theCBI arrested then minister of railwaysPawan Kumar Bansal's nephew, Vijay Singla for accepting an alleged bribe of₹9 million (US$110,000) from a middleman for the appointment of a particular person to the railway board.[42] The railway board clarified that no rules had been broken during the appointment and suspended Mahesh, the person concerned.[43]
Media related toMinisters of Railways of India at Wikimedia Commons
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