Railways spend ₹2.03 lakh crore by December, crosses 80% capex utilisation in first nine months

Indian Railways has utilised over 80% of its capital expenditure in the first nine months of the current financial year, with spending largely directed towards safety, capacity enhancement, infrastructure modernisation and passenger amenities, an official statement said on Monday.

As of end-December 2025, Railways spent ₹2,03,138 crore, or 80.54%, of the total gross budgetary support (GBS) allocation of ₹2,52,200 crore for 2025-26, according to data released by the Ministry of Railways.

The utilisation marks a 6.54 percentage point increase over the corresponding period last year, the statement said.

Spending on safety-related works stood at 84% of the allocated outlay, while capacity augmentation projects saw an expenditure of ₹76,048 crore, or 69%, against an allocation of ₹1,09,238 crore.

Outlays on passenger amenities recorded 80% utilisation, with the expenditure of ₹9,575 crore during the April–December period.

The railways said sustained capital expenditure over the past decade are evident in the operation of 164 Vande Bharat train services and 30 Amrit Bharat services, the rollout of the Kavach automatic train protection system, and electrification of over 99% of the broad-gauge network.

Extensive works on new lines, gauge conversion, track doubling, traffic facilities, investments in public sector units and metropolitan transport systems are also the outcome of the consistent capex, the statement said.

With the Vande Bharat Sleeper train set expected to be inaugurated shortly, Indian Railways said it remains on track to meet its capital expenditure targets for the full 2025-26 financial year.

“These initiatives have significantly improved speed, safety, and passenger comfort, while keeping rail travel affordable,” the statement said. “With the Vande Bharat Sleeper train set for inauguration shortly, Indian Railways is poised to transform long-distance rail travel.”