Railways spends over 80% of capex at ₹2 lakh cr till Q3FY26
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Indian Railways has utilised 80.54% of its total Gross Budgetary Support (GBS), amounting to ₹2,03,138 crore out of the allocated ₹2,52,200 crore, as of the end of December 2025.
This marks a 6.54% increase in GBS utilisation compared with the same period last year. The spending has largely been directed towards safety initiatives, capacity expansion, infrastructure modernisation, and improvements in passenger amenities, according to a release by the Ministry of Railways on Monday.
Within safety-related works, 84% of the earmarked funds have been spent. For capacity augmentation, ₹76,048 crore—around 69% of the ₹1,09,238 crore allocation—has been utilised. Expenditure on customer amenities has reached ₹9,575 crore, reflecting 80% utilisation by December 2025.
The railway ministry said the impact of sustained capital expenditure over the past decade is visible in the rollout of 164 Vande Bharat train services and 30 Amrit Bharat services, the deployment of the Kavach automatic train protection system, near-complete electrification of the broad-gauge network, and extensive projects covering new lines, gauge conversion, track doubling, traffic facilities, public sector undertaking investments, and metropolitan transport systems. Together, these initiatives have enhanced speed, safety, and passenger comfort while keeping rail travel affordable. With the Vande Bharat Sleeper train set to be inaugurated soon, Indian Railways is positioned to reshape long-distance rail travel, the release stated.
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Railways’ GBS expenditure plans on track
Overall, the data indicate that the Ministry of Railways’ GBS expenditure plan remains on track, with infrastructure projects progressing at a steady pace and targets for FY25–26 likely to be met.
In FY24, the ministry had overshot its capital expenditure target of ₹2.40 lakh crore and spent ₹2.42 lakh crore. The total amount the ministry of railways has utilised in capital expenditure stands at ₹9,13,439 crore.
IRCTC extends ticket booking time for Aadhaar-linked users
In another development, Indian Railways has revised the ticket booking window for Aadhaar-authenticated IRCTC users from Monday, coinciding with the opening day of the Advance Reservation Period (ARP). The change follows an earlier revision announced on December 29, 2025. The move is aimed at ensuring reservation benefits reach genuine passengers while curbing misuse by touts and other unscrupulous elements.
According to IRCTC, the booking window for Aadhaar-verified users will be extended to 08:00–16:00 hours on the first day of reserved ticket booking, compared with the current window of 08:00–12:00 hours.