Railways introduces single All-India Licence for Container Train Operators

9 August 2026National

Indian Railways approved reforms to the Model Concession Agreement allowing Container Train Operators (CTOs) to run trains on all routes under a single, uniform All-India Licence (announced 5 August 2026), scrapping the earlier route-wise permission-and-fee system. Applicants now pay a single non-refundable registration fee of Rs 25 crore for network-wide operations, replacing the four-category structure. A CTO''s permission can be extended by a further 20 years after expiry, subject to satisfactory performance. The reform aims to cut compliance costs, boost private participation, shift container freight from road to rail (lowering logistics costs, especially for MSMEs) and reduce emissions.

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Indian Railways: world''s 4th-largest network | First train: 1853 (Bombay-Thane) | CONCOR (Container Corporation of India, est. 1988) is a major PSU CTO | National Rail Plan targets higher rail-freight share by 2030

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Indian Railways introduced a single All-India Licence (single Rs 25-crore fee) for Container Train Operators, replacing route-wise permits.

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