29 January,2026 05:42 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
The survey said that recent years have been marked by record capital expenditure on railway infrastructure. Representational pic
Sustained investment has accelerated the expansion of the rail network, with the pace of track commissioning more than doubling in the post-2014 period compared to the previous decade, the Economic Survey for 2025-26, tabled in Parliament on Thursday, said.
According to the survey, Indian Railways commissioned an average of 1,499 km of tracks annually between 2004 and 2014, news agency PTI reported. This figure rose sharply to 3,118 km per year during the 2014-2024 period.
"Indian Railways continues to play a pivotal role in India's infrastructure landscape by expanding network capacity, modernising assets and strengthening multimodal connectivity," the survey stated.
It noted that as of March 2025, the rail network had expanded to 69,439 route kilometres (Rkm). During financial year (FY) 2025-26, the network is targeted to grow further by 3,500 km. Electrification has reached 99.1 per cent of the network as of October 2025, PTI reported.
The survey said that recent years have been marked by record capital expenditure on railway infrastructure, with a strong focus on new lines, doubling and multi-tracking, rolling stock augmentation, signalling upgrades, and safety-related works. Based on the Budget Estimates for FY 26, capital expenditure has been maintained at historically high levels to enable time-bound capacity creation.
"Railways have also emerged as the backbone of India's freight and energy logistics, supporting coal movement, industrial supply chains and containerised traffic through dedicated corridors, modern terminals and first-mile connectivity projects," it said, adding that parallel investments in stations, signalling, telecom and digital systems are improving reliability, safety and user experience.
Highlighting key infrastructure initiatives such as Economic Railway Corridors under Pradhan Mantri (PM) GatiShakti, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, dedicated freight corridors (DFCs), station redevelopment, and technology- and safety-led track upgrades, the survey underscored the ongoing transformation of the national transporter.
"Indian Railways is undergoing a transformation, driven by sustained capital investment, rapid network expansion, near-universal electrification and a corridor-based approach to capacity creation," it said.
On the bullet train project, the survey highlighted that more than 55 per cent physical progress had been achieved as of October 2025, PTI reported. Land acquisition has been completed and most civil packages awarded, marking a major milestone towards introducing high-speed rail in the country.
The survey also noted that about 2,741 km, or 96.4 per cent, of the 2,843-km DFC network had been commissioned as of October 2025.
While the eastern DFC, spanning 1,337 km, has been fully completed, 1,404 km of the 1,506-km western DFC is operational.
"These corridors are easing congestion on the passenger network, significantly reducing freight transit times and contributing to lower logistics costs," it said.
Praising the station redevelopment programme, the survey stated that 1,337 stations have been identified for phased redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Work has been completed at select stations, while progress is underway nationwide to improve capacity, accessibility and multimodal integration.
It further highlighted that over 78 per cent of railway tracks have been upgraded to support sectional speeds of 110 kmph (kilometre per hour) and above, PTI reported.
"Continued focus on dedicated freight corridors, economic rail corridors under PM GatiShakti, and modern signalling and station infrastructure is improving throughput, reliability and multimodal integration," the survey said.
In its outlook, the survey observed that these infrastructure-led initiatives will be crucial in reducing logistics costs and strengthening overall connectivity.
(With PTI inputs)
