Marred by corruption and weighed down by debt, China’s railway ministry is expected to be eliminated in a shake-up that would mark the first governance reforms by the country’s new leadership.

The railway ministry has long functioned as a state within a state in China, with its own police, courts and some 2.1m employees. By taking on such a powerful entity, Xi Jinping, the incoming president, would be displaying a willingness to push through changes to the country’s system of government that are needed to sustain rapid economic growth.

The restructuring, which local media say was discussed at a Communist party assembly that ended on Thursday, is likely to fall short of reformers’ hopes for consolidation of the bodies that oversee financial and energy affairs.