Indian Railways (IR) received Rs 2.78 lakh crore as budget outlay for the fiscal 2026-27 (FY27). This was announced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget on Sunday February 1, 2026.
The allocation aims to strengthen infrastructure, expand capacity, improving safety besides reducing logistics cost.
The budget also set aside the highest ever amount of funds for capital expenditure at over ₹ 2.93 lakh crore ( ₹2,93,030 crore). Such high levels of investment by IR aims to improve freight movement, de-congest high-density corridors besides enhancing passenger experience via modern trains and better amenities.
High-speed rail corridors
The budget announced seven high speed rail corridors between Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi and Varanasi–Siliguri. The proposed corridors are expected to significantly reduce inter-city travel time.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that Chennai–Bengaluru will take about 1 hour 13 minutes, Bengaluru–Hyderabad about 2 hours, and Chennai–Hyderabad about 2 hours 55 minutes. The proposed Mumbai–Pune high-speed corridor will take about 48 minutes while Pune to Hyderabad will be done in about 1 hour 55 minutes,Vaishnaw added. The Delhi–Varanasi high-speed corridor is likely to be done in about 3 hours 50 minutes while Varanasi-Siliguri via Patna will likely take about 2 hours and 55 minutes.
Together, these seven corridors span nearly 4,000 kilometres and are expected to attract investments of approximately ₹16 lakh crore, Vaishnaw said.
East West dedicated freight corridor (DFC)
The Union budget proposed a DFC from Dankuni in West Bengal to Surat in Gujarat via Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. This 2,052-km corridor will integrate with the existing Western DFC providing seamless movement of goods to ports along the west coast.
Budget allocation
The budget allocated funds as follows:
- Safety related works ₹120389 crore
- Rolling stock ₹ 52108.93 crore,
- Doubling ₹37750 crore,
- New lines ₹ 36721.55 crore
- Track renewal ₹ 22853 crore,
- Gauge conversion ₹ 4600 crore,
- Road-over-bridges (ROB) / Road-under-bridges (RUB) ₹8225 crore,
The Union Minister observed that safety was IR’s with over ₹1.20 lakh crore earmarked exclusively for safety-related works.
The focus areas included better maintenance of assets such as track, locomotive, wagons coaches, faster deployment of the Kavach automatic train protection system, installation of CCTV cameras, upgradation of overhead electrical (OHE) systems,
The Union Minister summed up that propulsion systems were now being designed and manufactured in India and exported to countries such as USA, Switzerland, Germany, France and Spain.
