Railways spent ₹1.42 trn on capex in first six months of current fiscal

The ministry utilised 57% of its ₹2.52-trillion annual capital outlay in six months, led by spending on capacity augmentation, safety, and rolling stock

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Indian Railways has spent 57 per cent of its ₹2.52-trillion capital expenditure (capex) budget for FY26 in the first six months (April–September) — the highest ever for this period, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.

 

The ministry, which has been frontloading its capital expenditure for several years, said it had spent ₹1.42 trillion on asset creation between April and September 2025, marking a record first-half performance.

 

Focus on capacity augmentation

 

Of the total, the highest amount was spent on capacity augmentation, including new lines, track doubling, gauge conversion, electrification, and metropolitan transport projects.

 

By September, the ministry had spent ₹49,001 crore on such works — 45 per cent of its FY26 target of approximately ₹1.1 trillion.

 

On safety-related projects, which include Kavach anti-collision systems, track renewals, road overbridges, bridges, and level crossings, the ministry spent ₹22,286 crore, or 56 per cent of its annual allocation.

 

Kavach, India’s indigenous train collision avoidance system, is being rolled out at an accelerated pace across the network.

 

Rolling stock, passenger amenities see strong spending

 

The ministry spent ₹25,948 crore on rolling stock procurement, representing 46 per cent of its FY26 allocation.

 

On customer amenities, it spent ₹5,863 crore, utilising 49 per cent of its full-year budget of ₹12,004 crore.

 

In other categories such as inventory, research, computerisation, and miscellaneous capex, the ministry spent ₹2,034 crore, amounting to 60 per cent of its annual outlay.

 

Capex frontloading extends to other infra ministries

 

According to Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data available until August, other infrastructure ministries have also frontloaded spending this year.

 

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had spent 43 per cent of its ₹2.72-trillion capex budget, while the Union government’s overall capital expenditure stood at 38 per cent of its ₹11.21-trillion annual target.