New Delhi: Indian Railways incurred nearly a third of its annual budgeted capital expenditure in the first quarter of this financial year, with official estimates suggesting that more than ₹84,000 crore or about 30% was achieved in just the first two months. The national transporter is slated to spend ₹2,81,030 crore from the gross budgetary support in 2026-27. The budget for 2026-27 earmarked another ₹12,000 crore for investment from extra budgetary resources, taking the total railway capex to ₹2,93,030 crore for the year.
“Capex spend is on track; a third of annual goal has been achieved,” said a senior official, who did not wish to be identified.
The Railways’ focus has been on improving safety through deployment of improved signalling and train protection technologies. Annual capex for safety is projected at ₹55,170 crore, up from ₹53,398 crore in the revised budget 2025-26 estimates. Budget 2025-26 earmarked ₹2,78,000 crore for railway capex, which was completely exhausted.
Track works such as construction of new lines, gauge conversion and doubling of lines continue to command a large share of capex goals. Over ₹79,000 crore is expected to be spent this year under these heads, up from ₹64,000 crore a year ago.