New Delhi: The Indian Railways’ budget allocation always makes for a major highlight since it concerns the livelihoods of many Indians and several citizens also depend on the railways for their commutes. The Railways Bidget was merged with the Union Budget in 2017, putting an end to a colonial practice.
“The government, in recent years, has strongly focused on an investment-led growth strategy, resulting in the development of quality infrastructure in the country. In the budget for 2023-24, the capital expenditure outlay of Rs. 10 lakh crore was nearly three times the outlay in 2019-20,” said Akshat Seth, MD and CEO at HIL.
Railway Budget Expectations
Vande Bharat Express on more routes: Currently, the superfast train runs on 50 routes.
Amrit Bharat trains: Currently, this non-AC sleeper and passenger train only functions on 2 routes.
Vande Metro Express trains: Plans are afoot to change the Mumbai local railway sets with Vande Bharat metro trains. Overall, 400 such train sets may be manufactured over the coming years.
Vande Bharat Sleeper trains: Set to be deployed on longer routes, these trains are expected to be equipped with modern amenities and faster, similar to its chair car cousin, the Vande Bharat Express.
“Considering the success of recent years, we expect the government to sustain the push towards investments in housing, highways, and rail corridors,” said Seth.
Interim Railway Budget 2024
In the interim Railway Budget in February 2024, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman decided to implement economic railway corridors for commodities, ports and high-traffic density areas.
40,000 rail bogies were authorised for upgradation to Vande Bharat Express standards.
The railways budget in interim Budget 2024 stood at Rs 2.55 lakh crore.
The Indian Railways recorded the highest freight earnings in June 20204 at Rs 14,798.12 crore and a jump in revenues by Rs 1,481.29 crore compared to the year-ago period.
Private investment in the Indian Railways was provided support through the establishment of the Infrastructure Finance Secretariat.
Railways Budget 2023
In Budget 2023, the Indian Railways received the “One station, one product” concept to use its infrastructure to encourage local businesses.
A target for the manufacturing of over 400 Vande Bharat trains was announced by finance minister Sithraman in this Budget.
Budget 2023 also laid down a plan to develop 100 cargo terminals to boost multimodal movement of goods.
Railway Budget 2022
The railways ministry received a Rs 1,10,055 crore allocation in Budget 2023.
The Indian Railways also received a credit line to cover resource gaps that arose owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The finance minister that the government will settle the pension dues of Indian Railways’ retired employees for the period 2019-20.
Railway Budget 2021
In this budget, finance minister Sithraman announced plans for the redevelopment of 4 railway stations.
Another 150 passenger trains were announced to be operated in a public-private partnership.
Budget 2020
Railways Budget 2020 announced a capital outlay of Rs 64,587 crore for the sector.
A total capex of over Rs 1.58 lakh crore was announced.
Budget 2024: Railway budget has undergone major changes over the past 4 years. Let’s see what were the key announcements made by the finance minister for Indian Railways in the past 4 years. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
