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Indian Railways has achieved a historic milestone in capital expenditure (CAPEX) utilisation, recording 56.5% of total budgetary grants spent within the first six months of the ongoing financial year 2025-26, the highest mid-year utilisation ever achieved by the national transporter.
According to official data, Indian Railways has utilised Rs 1,42,487 crore out of the total Rs 2,52,200 crore budgetary allocation for FY 2025-26 till September 2025. This record performance reflects the Railways' continued focus on accelerating infrastructure expansion, safety upgrades, and passenger amenities to meet the growing demands of a modern and efficient transport network. As per information, the CAPEX utilisation has been robust across all major segments, reflecting balanced and broad-based investment progress, such as 56% utilised in safety works. A total of Rs 22,286 crore has been spent out of the Rs 39,456 crore allocation for safety-related works. This includes critical projects such as the expansion of KAVACH, Indian Railways' indigenously developed automatic train protection system, along with track renewals, construction of Road Over Bridges (ROBs), bridges, and improvement of level crossings. The substantial mid-year utilisation underscores Railways' commitment to ensuring enhanced passenger and operational safety. Whereas, 45% utilised in capacity augmentation. Under capacity augmentation, which includes new lines, doubling, gauge conversion, electrification and metropolitan transport projects. Railways has spent Rs 49,001 crore against a total allocation of Rs 1,09,986 crore. This investment continues to drive network expansion and decongestion efforts, enabling faster freight and passenger movement and improving last-mile connectivity across regions. Also, 49% budget utilised in customer amenities. With a focus on passenger comfort and service quality, the Railways utilised Rs 5,863 crore out of Rs 12,004 crore earmarked for customer amenities. Funds have been directed towards the modernisation of stations, upgraded waiting areas, better sanitation facilities and digital service improvements. This reflects Railways' growing emphasis on improving the overall travel experience and aligning with the government's "Viksit Bharat" vision. Official informed that 46% CAPEX utilised in Rolling Stock. In the rolling stock segment, Rs 25,948 crore has been spent from the Rs 56,693 crore allocation. This includes procurement and production of modern locomotives, coaches and wagons, particularly energy-efficient and high-speed variants that support the transition towards a faster, greener railway ecosystem. Railway officials have described this achievement as a reflection of the sector's strengthened execution capabilities and streamlined project monitoring mechanisms. The accelerated pace of CAPEX deployment indicates improved coordination among zonal railways, faster tendering processes and enhanced accountability in project delivery. The record utilisation comes at a time when the Railways is driving massive infrastructure upgrades under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, focusing on multimodal connectivity, decongestion of critical routes, and improvement of logistics efficiency. (ANI)
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