New Delhi: Indian Railways has achieved a record 56.5% capital expenditure utilization by the end of September in FY26, marking its highest-ever mid-year performance in infrastructure spending.
Of the total budgetary allocation of ₹2.52 lakh trillion for FY26, the Railways has already utilized ₹1.42 trillion in the first half of the year, railway ministry data showed. This reflects an accelerated pace of project execution across key infrastructure segments, including safety, capacity augmentation, passenger amenities, and rolling stock.
The strong utilization reflects a continued push for front-loaded capital spending under the government’s infrastructure drive, a government official said on the condition of anonymity, with the Railways maintaining its role as a key growth engine for capital formation and employment generation.
The safety works segment, which covers critical areas such as the indigenously developed Kavach automatic train protection system, track renewals, road overbridges and level crossings, saw ₹22,286 crore spent out of the ₹39,456 crore allocation, translating to 56% utilization. This, the official said, underscores the ministry’s focus on operational safety and accident prevention as traffic volumes expand.
Under capacity augmentation, which includes new lines, doubling, gauge conversion, electrification, and metropolitan transport projects, the Railways utilized ₹49,001 crore out of the allocated ₹1.09 trillion, or about 45%. The sustained investment in this segment is aimed at easing congestion, improving freight movement, and expanding passenger capacity in high-demand corridors.
On customer amenities
Spending on customer amenities, including station redevelopment, digital services, and passenger facilities, reached ₹5,863 crore out of ₹12,004 crore, marking 49% utilization. Meanwhile, ₹25,948 crore was spent on rolling stock procurement, which includes locomotives, coaches, and wagons, against a budget of ₹56,693 crore, or 46% utilization.
The official further added that this year’s capex performance reflects improved project monitoring and faster fund releases, with the ministry aiming to cross 95% utilization by the end of the fiscal. The higher spending in the first half also signals robust progress in executing projects announced in recent budgets under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, including station modernization, signalling upgrades, and expansion of dedicated freight corridors.
Experts said the sustained pace of public investment in railways continues to play a pivotal role in driving demand for steel, cement, and electrical equipment, and will likely have a multiplier effect on the broader economy. The record utilization, they added, suggests that project pipelines and tender activity have now matured to the point where capital allocation is translating swiftly into on-ground execution.
“Like much of the core capex sectors, railways capex has also been frontloaded by the Centre, tracking 44% of the budgeted outlay in the first five months of FY26 versus 41% in the same period last year,” said Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services.
“This has also meant that railways capex growth is currently tracking a healthy 9% compared with near-zero growth budgeted in FY25 over the provisional numbers of FY25,” she added.