Indian Railways spends 76% of budgetary outlay for FY2025 till Jan 4

Indian Railways has used 76% of its budgetary outlay for the current fiscal year within the first nine months and four days, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.

The total capital expenditure (Capex) for Indian Railways in the 2024-25 Budget Estimate was pegged at ₹2.65 lakh crore, of which ₹1.92 lakh crore has already been spent, according to the latest expenditure report till January 5, 2025.

The ministry credited the government’s thrust on modernising the rail network for substantial investments in new lines, gauge conversion, electrification, and rolling stock, among other areas.

"The fruits for consistent Capital Expenditure (Capex) for the last one decade are visible in the form of 136 Vande Bharat trains, about 97 percent electrification of broad gauge, laying of new lines, gauge conversion, doubling of track, traffic facilities work, investment in PSUs & metropolitan transport," a government release said.

"With Vande Bharat sleeper trains at speed testing & safety certification stage, Rail commuters in India are all set to experience world class travel very soon for “long distance” travel," it added.

The Vande Bharat sleeper train, designed for long-distance travel, underwent successful trials earlier this month, achieving a peak speed of 180 km per hour multiple times. The trials will continue until the end of January before the train is launched for passengers nationwide.

The budgetary provision for rolling stock was ₹50,903 crore, of which ₹40,367 crore (79%) has been spent. In safety-related works, ₹28,281 crore out of the ₹34,412 crore allocation (82%) has been utilised.

Indian Railways, which ferries an average of 2.3 crore passengers daily, plans to combine infrastructure upgrades with sustainable practices to cater to the nation’s vast geographical and demographic diversity, according to the government.

"Charting out well on this path of development, India Railways is committing taxpayer’s money in capital expenditure to create state of the art infrastructure for generations to come, thus contributing in the direction of “Future ready” Indian Railways as we all progress towards Viksit Bharat," the ministry said.