The Ministry of Railways has entrusted Rahul Himalian, Director (Tourism & Marketing) at the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), with the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), following the resignation of Sanjay Kumar Jain from the top post.
The appointment, effective from 20 July 2026, places Himalian at the helm of the Navratna public sector enterprise, where he will oversee the organisation’s strategic direction and overall operations while continuing to discharge his responsibilities as Director (Tourism & Marketing).
An Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer from the 1999 batch, Himalian brings more than 26 years of experience across the Indian Railways and IRCTC. He has served as a Whole-Time Functional Director on the IRCTC Board since February 16, 2024, leading several critical portfolios, including Tourism, Information Technology, Human Resource Development, Infrastructure, Administration and Rajbhasha.
Widely recognised for his strong academic credentials, Himalian studied at The Lawrence School, where he was Head Boy and Best Student. He later graduated in Electrical Engineering with a Gold Medal from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Hamirpur before earning a postgraduate engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi with a perfect CGPA of 10.00. He was also awarded the prestigious President’s Gold Medal for being the institute’s Best All-Round Student.
With his expanded responsibilities, Himalian is expected to steer IRCTC through its next phase of growth, focusing on strengthening the corporation’s tourism, hospitality, catering and digital services while continuing to support Indian Railways’ broader passenger service initiatives.
A Schedule ‘A’ Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, IRCTC plays a pivotal role in India’s travel ecosystem through its online railway ticketing platform, catering services, tourism products and packaged rail tours, making it one of the country’s largest integrated travel service providers.
