List of Railway Ministers of India
List of all Railway Ministers of India from 1947 to 2026, with their party, dates, and total time in office.
First Minister
John Mathai
Assumed office 15 Aug 1947
Current Incumbent
Ashwini Vaishnaw
Serving Union Minister
Unique Ministers
31 Ministers
Post-independence 1947–2026
Longest Tenure
Jagjivan Ram (5 yrs, 124 days)
Historic milestone service
| # | Minister | Party | From | To | Duration | Constituency | House |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |
JM
John Mathai
|
Indian National Congress | 15 Aug 1947 | 22 Sep 1948 | 1 yr, 38 days | United Provinces | Constituent Assembly |
| #2 |
GA
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
|
Indian National Congress | 22 Sep 1948 | 13 May 1952 | 3 yrs, 234 days | Madras | Constituent Assembly |
| #3 |
LS
Lal Bahadur Shastri
|
Indian National Congress | 13 May 1952 | 7 Dec 1956 | 4 yrs, 208 days | Allahabad | Lok Sabha |
| #4 |
JR
Jagjivan Ram
|
Indian National Congress | 7 Dec 1956 | 10 Apr 1962 | 5 yrs, 124 days | Sasaram | Lok Sabha |
| #5 |
SS
Swaran Singh
|
Indian National Congress | 10 Apr 1962 | 21 Sep 1963 | 1 yr, 164 days | Jalandhar | Lok Sabha |
| #6 |
HD
H. C. Dasappa
|
Indian National Congress | 21 Sep 1963 | 9 Jun 1964 | 262 days | Bangalore | Lok Sabha |
| #7 |
SP
S. K. Patil
|
Indian National Congress | 9 Jun 1964 | 12 Mar 1967 | 2 yrs, 276 days | Bombay South | Lok Sabha |
| #8 |
CP
C. M. Poonacha
|
Indian National Congress | 13 Mar 1967 | 14 Feb 1969 | 1 yr, 338 days | Mangalore | Lok Sabha |
| #9 |
RS
Ram Subhag Singh
|
Indian National Congress | 14 Feb 1969 | 4 Nov 1969 | 263 days | Buxar | Lok Sabha |
| #10 |
GM
P. Govinda Menon
|
Indian National Congress | 4 Nov 1969 | 18 Feb 1970 | 106 days | Mukundapuram | Lok Sabha |
| #11 |
GN
Gulzarilal Nanda
|
Indian National Congress | 18 Feb 1970 | 18 Mar 1971 | 1 yr, 28 days | Sabarkantha | Lok Sabha |
| #12 |
KH
K. Hanumanthaiya
|
Indian National Congress | 18 Mar 1971 | 22 Jul 1972 | 1 yr, 126 days | Bangalore City | Lok Sabha |
| #13 |
TP
T. A. Pai 1st Term
|
Indian National Congress | 22 Jul 1972 | 5 Feb 1973 | 198 days | Karnataka | Rajya Sabha |
| #14 |
LM
Lalit Narayan Mishra
|
Indian National Congress | 5 Feb 1973 | 3 Jan 1975 | 1 yr, 332 days | Darbhanga | Lok Sabha |
| #15 |
KT
Kamalapati Tripathi 1st Term
|
Indian National Congress | 10 Feb 1975 | 23 Mar 1977 | 2 yrs, 41 days | Varanasi | Lok Sabha |
| #16 |
MD
Madhu Dandavate
|
Janata Party | 26 Mar 1977 | 28 Jul 1979 | 2 yrs, 124 days | Rajapur | Lok Sabha |
| #17 |
TP
T. A. Pai 2nd Term
|
Janata Party (Secular) | 30 Jul 1979 | 19 Aug 1979 | 20 days | Udupi | Lok Sabha |
| #18 |
CS
C. Subramaniam
|
Janata Party (Secular) | 19 Aug 1979 | 14 Jan 1980 | 148 days | Palani | Lok Sabha |
| #19 |
KT
Kamalapati Tripathi 2nd Term
|
Indian National Congress | 14 Jan 1980 | 12 Nov 1980 | 303 days | Varanasi | Lok Sabha |
| #20 |
KP
Kedar Pandey
|
Indian National Congress | 12 Nov 1980 | 15 Jan 1982 | 1 yr, 64 days | Bettiah | Lok Sabha |
| #21 |
PS
P. C. Sethi
|
Indian National Congress | 15 Jan 1982 | 2 Sep 1982 | 230 days | Indore | Lok Sabha |
| #22 |
GC
A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury
|
Indian National Congress | 2 Sep 1982 | 31 Dec 1984 | 2 yrs, 120 days | Malda | Lok Sabha |
| #23 |
BL
Bansi Lal
|
Indian National Congress | 31 Dec 1984 | 4 Jun 1986 | 1 yr, 155 days | Bhiwani | Lok Sabha |
| #24 |
MS
Madhavrao Scindia
|
Indian National Congress | 4 Jun 1986 | 2 Dec 1989 | 3 yrs, 181 days | Gwalior | Lok Sabha |
| #25 |
GF
George Fernandes
|
Janata Dal | 6 Dec 1989 | 10 Nov 1990 | 339 days | Muzaffarpur | Lok Sabha |
| #26 |
JM
Janeshwar Mishra
|
Samajwadi Janata Party | 21 Nov 1990 | 21 Jun 1991 | 212 days | Allahabad | Lok Sabha |
| #27 |
JS
C. K. Jaffer Sharief
|
Indian National Congress | 21 Jun 1991 | 16 Oct 1995 | 4 yrs, 117 days | Bangalore North | Lok Sabha |
| #28 |
RP
Ram Vilas Paswan
|
Janata Dal | 1 Jun 1996 | 19 Mar 1998 | 1 yr, 291 days | Hajipur | Lok Sabha |
| #29 |
NK
Nitish Kumar 1st Term
|
Samata Party | 19 Mar 1998 | 5 Aug 1999 | 1 yr, 139 days | Barh | Lok Sabha |
| #30 |
RN
Ram Naik
|
Bharatiya Janata Party | 6 Aug 1999 | 13 Oct 1999 | 68 days | Mumbai North | Lok Sabha |
| #31 |
MB
Mamata Banerjee 1st Term
|
All India Trinamool Congress | 13 Oct 1999 | 16 Mar 2001 | 1 yr, 154 days | Calcutta South | Lok Sabha |
| #32 |
NK
Nitish Kumar 2nd Term
|
Janata Dal (United) | 20 Mar 2001 | 22 May 2004 | 3 yrs, 63 days | Barh | Lok Sabha |
| #33 |
LY
Lalu Prasad Yadav
|
Rashtriya Janata Dal | 23 May 2004 | 22 May 2009 | 4 yrs, 364 days | Chhapra | Lok Sabha |
| #34 |
MB
Mamata Banerjee 2nd Term
|
All India Trinamool Congress | 23 May 2009 | 19 May 2011 | 1 yr, 361 days | Kolkata South | Lok Sabha |
| #35 |
DT
Dinesh Trivedi
|
All India Trinamool Congress | 12 Jul 2011 | 14 Mar 2012 | 246 days | Barrackpore | Lok Sabha |
| #36 |
MR
Mukul Roy
|
All India Trinamool Congress | 20 Mar 2012 | 21 Sep 2012 | 185 days | West Bengal | Rajya Sabha |
| #37 |
CJ
C. P. Joshi
|
Indian National Congress | 22 Sep 2012 | 28 Oct 2012 | 36 days | Bhilwara | Lok Sabha |
| #38 |
PB
Pawan Kumar Bansal
|
Indian National Congress | 28 Oct 2012 | 10 May 2013 | 194 days | Chandigarh | Lok Sabha |
| #39 |
MK
Mallikarjun Kharge
|
Indian National Congress | 17 Jun 2013 | 26 May 2014 | 343 days | Gulbarga | Lok Sabha |
| #40 |
SG
D. V. Sadananda Gowda
|
Bharatiya Janata Party | 26 May 2014 | 9 Nov 2014 | 167 days | Bangalore North | Lok Sabha |
| #41 |
SP
Suresh Prabhu
|
Bharatiya Janata Party | 9 Nov 2014 | 3 Sep 2017 | 2 yrs, 298 days | Andhra Pradesh | Rajya Sabha |
| #42 |
PG
Piyush Goyal
|
Bharatiya Janata Party | 3 Sep 2017 | 7 Jul 2021 | 3 yrs, 307 days | Maharashtra | Rajya Sabha |
| #43 |
AV
Ashwini Vaishnaw Incumbent
|
Bharatiya Janata Party | 7 Jul 2021 | Present | Serving | Odisha | Rajya Sabha |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first Railway Minister of independent India?
John Mathai served as the first Minister of Railways of independent India from 15 August 1947 to 22 September 1948.
Who is the current Railway Minister of India?
Ashwini Vaishnaw has been serving as the Union Minister of Railways since 7 July 2021, reappointed in June 2024.
Who was the first woman Railway Minister of India?
Mamata Banerjee was the first woman Railway Minister of India, serving first in 1999–2001 and again from 2009 to 2011.
Why did Lal Bahadur Shastri resign as Railway Minister?
Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned in November 1956 taking moral responsibility for the Ariyalur railway accident in Tamil Nadu, setting an enduring benchmark for public accountability.