Railway Budget to signal road to reform: Prabhu

Fall in oil prices likely to give railways 25% boost in investments

The railway budget, to be presented later on Thursday, will signal the direction of long-term reforms needed to revamp the world's fourth-largest rail network, minister Suresh Prabhu said.

"The budget will set the direction of long and difficult road of reform," Prabhu told state-run broadcaster DD News ahead of his budget presentation.

India's decrepit state-run train services stand to receive at least a 25% boost in investment to over $9 billion, funded solely by falling fuel costs, according to officials familiar with the railway budget.