Where is India's only railway university, and how does one get admission?

India's only railway university is Gati Shakti University. It is a central university located in Vadodara that operates under the Ministry of Railways. Prime Minister Modi also recently mentioned this railway university.

You may have heard of various types of universities in our country, but do you know where India's only railway university is located? In fact, India's only railway university is Gati Shakti University. It is a central university situated in Lalbaug, Vadodara, functioning under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also recently mentioned this railway university during an address in Vadodara, bringing it back into the spotlight.

Although it is commonly referred to as a railway university, its scope is not limited to railways alone. In addition to railway-related subjects, the university offers programs in fields such as aviation, maritime transport, highways, waterways, logistics, supply chain management, and multi-modal transportation.

Gati Shakti University began as the National Rail and Transportation Institute. It was established in 2018 as a 'deemed-to-be university' focused on education, research, and training related to transportation.

Later, in 2022, it was granted central university status through an Act of Parliament and renamed Gati Shakti University. The university aims to groom professionals for the transport and logistics sectors, providing them with education and training tailored to the industry's evolving needs.

The university offers a variety of courses, with varying seat capacities across different programs. There are 60 seats each in the Civil, ECE, Mechanical, Electronics, and AI & Data Science programs. Aviation Engineering has 40 seats, and Maritime Engineering has 30 seats; seats are also available in other programs.

Students do not need to take a separate university entrance exam for admission to Gati Shakti University's B.Tech program. Candidates for the 2026-27 session are required to qualify for JEE Main 2026. Subsequently, eligible candidates can secure admission to the university through the counseling process. This means that admission to the B.Tech program requires first appearing for JEE Main and then participating in the university's counseling process.

Regarding the fees for the 2026-27 session, the annual program fee is ₹1,76,600 for day scholars, while it is ₹2,66,200 for students residing in the hostel. The fee for the first semester is stated to be ₹97,550 for day scholars and ₹1,42,350 for hostellers.