Following are some of the major investments and developments in India’s railways sector:

• In October 2023, it was reported that, India’s investments in infrastructure will rise to Rs. 143 trillion (US$ 1.71 trillion) between financial years 2024 and 2030, as per analytics firm CRISIL.
• With a view to improve rail connectivity and ease travel for commuters, the Union Cabinet approved seven projects for Ministry of Railways in August 2023 at a cost of around Rs. 32,500 crore (US$ 3.93 billion). Spanning 35 districts in nine States - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, the projects will add 2,339 km to the existing network.
• In June 2023, IRCON (formerly Indian Railways Construction Company Limited) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited and Ayana Renewable Power Limited. This partnership will consider suitable opportunities for solar energy production for the Indian Railways as they intend to increase the share of renewables in their overall energy mix.
• In FY23, North Western Railway registered the highest growth in freight earnings at Rs. 6,839.93 crore (US$ 832.39 million), which is 30.82% higher than last year’s earnings of Rs. 5,228.13 crore (US$ 636.3 million). Freight loading also increased to 32.69 million tonnes, which is 10.07% higher than last year’s loading of 29.70 million tonnes.
• One major development is the launch of the “Vande Bharat Express“, India’s first semi-high speed train. This train, which can reach speeds of up to 160 km/h, has been manufactured indigenously by the Indian Railways’ Integral Coach Factory. It features several modern amenities such as onboard Wi-Fi, GPS-based passenger information system, and CCTV cameras.
• The focus on increasing the use of technology to improve safety and efficiency. This includes the use of CCTV cameras in trains and at stations, the implementation of an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system to prevent collisions, and the use of GPS-based systems for real-time tracking of trains.
• Indian Railways is also working on upgrading its infrastructure, with a focus on electrification of lines, the construction of new lines, and the redevelopment of existing stations. The government has also announced plans to invest in high-speed trains, such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, which is being implemented with the assistance of Japan.
• Revenue growth has been strong over the years. Indian Railways’ revenue reached US$ 5.21 billion in the third quarter of FY 2023.
• The total passenger revenue stood at US$ 8.51 billion during 2022-23.
• In FY 2023 (until October 2022) passenger traffic stood at 3.61 billion.
• Total revenue from traffic is estimated to be Rs. 2,64,600 crore (US$ 32.18 billion), which comprises 99.8% of the total revenue.
• On a cumulative basis in FY23, railways freight earnings stood at US$ 16.3 billion against US$ 19.72 billion over last year which is an improvement of 14.89% as compared to the same period of last year.
• FDI inflows in railway-related components stood at US$ 1.40 billion from April 2000-September 2023.
• In the case of freight earnings, it experienced a year-on-year growth of 20.84%. It stood at US$ 18.55 billion in FY22 as compared to FY21 which was at US$ 15.35 billion.
• Freight remains the key revenue-earning segment for Indian Railways, accounting for 75.2% of the total revenue in FY22, followed by the passenger segment.
• Indian Railways aims to achieve 100% electrification of all broad-gauge routes by 2023.
• In November 2021, Indian Railways announced that ~102 semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Expresses are expected to commence operations by 2024.
• In July 2021, the South-Central Railway zone announced infrastructure development by doubling the maximum permissible speed to 100 km per hour on the Godavari Bridge. The initiative gave a major boost to the Indian Railways on infrastructure modernisation.
• Since the launch of first ‘Kisan Rail’ service on August 7, 2020, the Indian Railways have operated a total of 1,040 Kisan Rail services by transporting ~3.38 lakh tonnes of consignment across 72 routes in the country until July 30, 2021.
• The Indian Railways is likely to deliver 58 supercritical as well as 68 critical projects worth more than Rs.1,15,000 crore (US$ 15.44 billion) in the next few years. 29 supercritical projects—spanning 1,044 km and costing Rs. 11,588 crore (US$ 1.5 billion)—have been commissioned. Four projects worth Rs. 1,408 crore (US$ 189.05 million) have been completed and the remaining projects are targeted for completion by March 2024.
• On July 25, 2021, the Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC), a nodal agency of the Ministry of Railways spearheading the re-development of railway stations across the country, claimed that the two railway stations will be redeveloped at an indicative cost of Rs. 1,285 crore (US$ 172.54 million) in four years.
• The Indian Railways has decided to undertake electrification of Broad Gauge (BG) rail lines in a mission mode and is likely to complete the process by 2023-24. Indian Railways electrified 58,812 Route Kilometers (RKMs) till March 31, 2023, which is about 90% of the total broad-gauge network (65,300 RKMs) of Indian Railways. About Rs. 21,000 crore (US$ 2.8 billion) is estimated to be spent on electrification of the remaining BG routes.
• In January 2021, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) announced that it has exported 125 cars to Nepal via the Indian Railways. The export is claimed to be eco-friendly and the first-ever by the company. With this step, the company is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 20,260 tonnes.
• The Indian Railways completed eight major capacity enhancement projects by taking advantage of the coronavirus lockdown. These projects included three supercritical projects with a combined length of 68km, three critical projects with a combined length of 45km, upgradation of the entire 389km railway line from Jhajha in Bihar to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction in Uttar Pradesh and a new 82km port connectivity line to Paradip.
• As a part of the Railways’ plans to upgrade its network, the Ministry announced that all non-AC sleeper coaches will be replaced by AC coaches for trains running >130 kmph. This move has been taken as a technical necessity for high-speed trains with the bonus of improving the passenger experience.