The Railways Act, 1989
Act No. 24 of 1989
[3rd June, 1989]
Long Title: An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Railways.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fortieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
The Railways Act, 1989 came into force on 1st July, 1990, vide Notification No. S.O. 475(E), dated 12th June, 1990. It repealed and replaced the Indian Railways Act, 1890 (9 of 1890), consolidating the law relating to the administration, construction, operation, and regulation of railways in India, including the carriage of passengers and goods, railway safety, liability and compensation for accidents, and penalties and offences connected with the use of railways.
The Act has been amended several times since its enactment, including by the Railways (Amendment) Act, 1994; the Railways (Amendment) Act, 2003; the Railways (Second Amendment) Act, 2003; the Railways (Amendment) Act, 2005; the Railways (Amendment) Act, 2008; the Finance Act, 2017 (which replaced the Railway Rates Tribunal with the Railway Claims Tribunal for the purposes of Chapter VII); and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023.
The Act is organised into sixteen Chapters and 200 sections, extending to two additional chapters (IIA on the Rail Land Development Authority and IVA on land acquisition for special railway projects) inserted by later amendments. For the full section-by-section text, see the Table of Contents.
