Ashwini Vaishnaw Warns Railway Manufacturers: ‘Focus On Quality Or Face Blacklisting’
Vaishnaw directed the Railway Board to appoint officials who are “ruthless” in enforcing compliance and penalising errant manufacturers.
Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw has issued a stern warning to railway equipment manufacturers, calling for a complete overhaul in quality standards and production processes to bring Indian railway manufacturing on par with international benchmarks.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the International Railway Equipment Exhibition in New Delhi on Oct. 15, Vaishnaw said the Railway Ministry would soon introduce stricter quality and processing checks covering all stages — from design and material selection to manufacturing and final assembly.
“The time for incremental improvement is gone,” he said. “I urge all track equipment manufacturers to improve processes in manufacturing, quality control, material selection, procurement, heat treatment of materials, final assembly, etc.”
Vaishnaw directed the Railway Board to appoint officials who are “ruthless” in enforcing compliance and penalising errant manufacturers. “They should debar, delist and sometimes even blacklist those manufacturing sub-standard railway equipment and supplying to the Indian Railways,” he added, signalling a zero-tolerance policy for quality lapses.
Emphasising the need for a leap in standards, Vaishnaw said Indian manufacturers must aim for at least a “10x” improvement in quality across all segments — including signalling systems, earthing, track components, and locomotive and coach parts. “We should be procuring the best in the world,” he said.
Highlighting India’s growing capabilities in green and indigenous technology, the minister announced that Indian engineers have developed a 2,400-kW hydrogen-powered train entirely within the country. “We will not import this technology. We will design it ourselves,” Vaishnaw said.
He also revealed that work is underway on Vande Bharat 4.0 and Amrit Bharat 4.0, the next generation of high-speed trains designed with an export-oriented approach. In addition, the government is planning to expand capacity through dedicated passenger train corridors and upgrades to existing tracks.
The minister’s remarks underline a clear message — quality, innovation, and self-reliance will drive the next phase of India’s railway modernisation, and those who fail to meet these standards risk being left behind.
