Indian Railway Budget 2025 Expectations: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting Budget 2025 in the Lok Sabha on February 1 and needless to say, all eyes are on the Indian Railways sector. There are high expectations in 2025 for the budget to focus on modernising the Indian Railways network, improving passenger services, and expanding connectivity across regions. With an emphasis on safety, sustainability and the introduction of advanced technology, the government aims to enhance the overall railway experience for millions of commuters and freight transporters. Moreover, the budget is expected to outline investments in high-speed trains, new routes, station upgrades, and environmental initiatives to reduce carbon emissions.

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Let’s take a closer look at what we can expect from the upcoming Railway Budget:

  • More usage of Artificial Intelligence: The Indian Railways is expected to accelerate its investments and initiatives in the technology sector, with a strong focus on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance systems and processes. Currently, AI is being utilised for predictive analysis to boost efficiency. For example, AI models analyze data to predict seat availability, improving the rate of ticket confirmations. Additionally, AI-powered predictive maintenance is being employed to monitor the condition of tracks and trains, ensuring safer and more reliable operations. Recently, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduced the Linen Inspection and Sorting Assistant (LISA), an AI-based system designed to automatically identify and segregate stained linens while conducting thorough quality checks on bed sheets used in trains. This innovative approach highlights the Railways’ commitment to adopting advanced technology for better service and operational efficiency.
  • Rolling Stock: The Indian Railways had allotted Rs 54,113 crore of the FY 2024-25 Railway budget for the rolling stock, which was Rs 156 crore higher than what was provided in FY 23-24. Rolling stock refers to the various types of vehicles that are used for both train services and track maintenance. This includes passenger carriages, locomotives, freight wagons, and other specialised vehicles. The budget in 2025 is expected to allocate a good chunk to the rolling stock as the focus is more on modernising and expanding the railway network.
  • Manufacturing LHB coaches: A key initiative by the Indian Railways has been the replacement of older ICF coaches with Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coaches. Since April 2018, the railways have exclusively produced LHB coaches. However, the production targets for coaches in 2023-24 were not met. There has been no update on its manufacturing in FY 2024-25 also. Meanwhile, there is growing demand for additional LHB coaches due to their enhanced safety and comfort features. As a result, it is expected that the focus on manufacturing LHB coaches will be of significant priority in the Union Budget for 2025-26.
  • Modern Locomotives: Investing in modern locomotives like WAG-12 is very important for power generation and capacity. According to the information provided on Wikipedia, the delivery schedule for the locomotives spans from 2018 to 2028. The first locomotive was scheduled to enter service in 2018, with a total of five delivered by 2019. This was followed by plans to assemble 35 additional locomotives in 2020, 60 in 2021, and 100 locomotives per year from 2022 onwards until the full order of 800 locomotives is completed. The government is expected to prioritise railways’ efficiency in the coming year and thus budget allocation is going to be a primary part of it.
  • Initial analysis show that the budget is may allocate a major chunk of Budget 2025 for new Amrit Bharat trains, stations and much more. According to a CRISIL report, the Indian Railways aims to build 100,000 km of new railway tracks over the next two decades, implement the Kavach safety system across 44,000 km within five years, equip 50,000 locomotives with this technology, and produce 400 new Vande Bharat trains within three years will require additional revenue streams.