Railway Budget 2026–27: Railways get record Rs 2.93 lakh crore capex; high-speed corridors, freight and safety in sharp focus

New Delhi, Feb 1: Indian Railways is set for a major expansion with a record capital expenditure of Rs 2.93 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2026–27, the highest-ever allocation for the national transporter. The spending will focus on high-speed connectivity, strengthening freight movement and improving safety, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The allocation underlines the government’s push to use rail infrastructure as a key driver of economic growth, logistics efficiency, and sustainable mobility. Investments will go towards expanding capacity, decongesting busy routes, reducing logistics costs and improving passenger experience through modern trains and upgraded stations.

A major highlight of the budget is the announcement of seven new high-speed rail corridors across the country, covering nearly 4,000 km and expected to attract investments of around Rs 16 lakh crore. These corridors include Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi and Varanasi–Siliguri.

In South India, the Chennai–Bengaluru–Hyderabad network will form a “South High-Speed Diamond”, connecting key economic and IT hubs. Mr Vaishnaw said travel time between Chennai and Bengaluru will come down to about 1 hour 13 minutes, Bengaluru–Hyderabad to around 2 hours, and Chennai–Hyderabad to under 3 hours. The network is expected to benefit Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

In western India, the Mumbai–Pune high-speed corridor will cut travel time to around 48 minutes, while in the north and east, the Delhi–Varanasi corridor will enable travel in under four hours. The Varanasi–Patna–Siliguri stretch is expected to create a new economic corridor across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. The budget also proposes a new 2,052-km Dedicated Freight Corridor between Dankuni in West Bengal and Surat in Gujarat, passing through Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The corridor will strengthen east–west trade, decongest existing lines and support industrial growth. The minister noted that existing freight corridors are already operating near capacity.

Safety remains the top priority, with nearly Rs 1.20 lakh crore earmarked for safety-related works. Mr Vaishnaw said sustained investments have helped reduce railway accidents by about 95 per cent, with further focus on track and rolling stock maintenance, Kavach train protection system, CCTV installation and station upgrades. Highlighting India’s growing self-reliance, the minister said propulsion systems designed and manufactured in India are now being exported to countries such as the US, Germany, France, Switzerland and Spain. With record achievements in track laying, electrification and train manufacturing, and a strong focus on green transport, the latest budget positions Indian Railways as a backbone of national development and a key pillar of the government’s Viksit Bharat vision.