Indian Railways reported a 4% increase in earnings and a 2% rise in capital expenditure for the first nine months of FY25 compared to the same period last year. From April to December, total capital expenditure reached Rs 1.92 trillion, while freight operations contributed Rs 1.26 trillion to earnings. Passenger earnings rose by 6% to Rs 559.88 billion. Overall revenue stood at Rs 1.93 trillion, an increase of Rs 76.74 billion compared to the previous year. Freight loading volumes grew by 2%, reaching 1,179 million tonnes during the period. The national transporter recorded a 3% rise in train services; running over 2.07 million mail, express, and passenger trains — an all-time high compared to 2.02 million services during the same period last year. Additionally, the number of special trains surged 54% to 57,169. To sustain this growth, Indian Railways introduced a new timetable incorporating 62 special trains on popular routes and adding 74 new services, including 34 pairs of Vande Bharat trains.

Safety and infrastructure upgrades have enabled more than one-fifth of the railway network to support train speeds of up to 130 km/h. Approximately 23,000 track kilometres (TKM) out of the total 103,000 TKM are now equipped for faster train operations, improving connectivity and reducing travel times. The upgrades include enhanced track safety measures such as fencing and modern signalling systems, allowing more efficient utilisation of the network. (ET)