A mass overhaul in India’s railways would be seen through 200 new Vande Bharat trains, 100 Amrit Bharat trains, 50 Namo Bharat rapid rail, and 17,500 general non-AC coaches expected to roll out over the next two to three years. The ministry referred to the union budget as “amazing”, as an amount of Rs 2.52 lakh crore was allocated for FY 2025-26.
Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said new trains and modern coaches will go a long way in serving the middle class. “This year’s budget mentions infrastructure development projects of railways to the order of Rs 4.60 lakh crore. Focusing on safety, the budget allocates Rs 1.16 lakh crore for expenditure this year to augment the safety of Indian Railways through various projects, “he said.
Talking to media in Rail Bhawan, Vaishnaw also said on the presentation of the budget that it not only seeks to give employment through the investment but goes big on offering relief to middle class with burden reduction in its income tax rate. Rail will generate an added Rs 3,000 crore from its resources, Vaishnaw said.
Reimbursement of losses on the operation of strategic lines has been kept at Rs 2,739.18 crore in Budget Estimate 2025-26 as against Rs 2,602.81 crore in last fiscal’s revised estimates 2024-25. As much as Rs 706 crore are being provided this fiscal towards debt servicing of market borrowings for national projects, said an official.
With this, the net revenue expenditure of Indian Railways is placed at Rs 3,02,100 crore in this year’s budget estimate as against Rs 2,79,000 crore in the revised estimate of the last fiscal.
