Indian Railways’ capital expenditure (Capex) patterns from 2017 to 2025

In FY 2017-18, the Indian railway’s total Capex was ₹101,985 crores, which was 5.8% less than the previous year. However, in FY 2018-19, suddenly, the Capex jumped to ₹133,377 crores and recorded a dramatic increase of 30.8%. This substantial rise signals a strategic shift towards major infrastructure development and modernization.  The growth momentum continued through FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21, though at more moderate rates of 11% and 4.8%, respectively, bringing Capex to ₹155,181 crores. What’s particularly noteworthy is that the railways maintained their commitment to investment even during the challenging pandemic period, demonstrating long-term vision despite short-term disruptions. FY 2021-22 saw another significant leap when the Capex rose to ₹190,267 crores and represented a robust 22.6% increase.  This post-pandemic surge suggests a strategic push to make up for any delays and accelerate modernization efforts. The momentum continued into FY 2022-23 with a 7.21% increase to ₹203,983 crores. Perhaps the most striking jump came in FY 2023-24 when the Capex reached ₹262,217 crores with an impressive 28.5% increase. This substantial investment likely reflects major infrastructure projects, technology upgrades, and capacity expansion initiatives. To visualize this scale, it’s equivalent to investing roughly ₹718 crores every day of the year. Looking ahead to FY 2024-25 (BE), the projected Capex of ₹265,200 crores shows a more modest 1.1% increase. This moderation in growth rate suggests a consolidation phase after several years of aggressive expansion, focusing on completing and operationalizing existing projects rather than initiating new ones. When we look at the overall trajectory from FY 2017-18 to FY 2024-25 (BE), we see that Capex has grown by approximately 160%. This remarkable growth reflects a transformation from incremental improvements to comprehensive modernization of India’s rail infrastructure. It’s like watching a traditional railway system evolve into a modern, integrated transportation network.