A railways panel has flagged a major execution gap in the doubling of existing rail lines with only 573 km completed up to December 2025 against a target of 2,600 km for FY26. The weak execution is out of sync with spending on doubling projects with 73.9% of the revised allocation utilised by December 2025 against just 22% of the physical target achieved.
As per the report, the national transporter spent Rs 21,457.27 crore for doubling works by December 2025. Even though the committee acknowledged that doubling projects are long-gestation assets involving land acquisition, statutory clearances and complex execution, it stated that there’s a need to narrow the gap between expenditure and physical achievement.
Typically, doubling of tracks involves adding a second track alongside an existing single-track railway line. It allows trains to operate in both directions with fewer crossing-related delays and increasing the capacity of congested routes.
Further, the panel has raised a broader concerns over the financial returns from this infrastructure push. It noted that railways’ operating ratio has remained above 98% since FY23, and the ministry is estimating the ratio at 98.82% for FY26 and 98.4% for FY27.
The operating ratio measures how much the railways spends to earn its operating revenue. A lower ratio indicates better efficiency.
To improve its operating performance, the panel has asked the government to boost freight revenue through better utilisation of dedicated freight corridors and diversification into non-bulk cargo, while increasing non-fare revenue through structured asset monetisation, station redevelopment and commercial use of railway land.
“The committee emphasise timely completion of capacity augmentation projects to avoid cost overruns and need for linking capital investment to measurable revenue outcomes to ensure sustainable financial improvement,” the report said.
The concerns over execution come as Railways continues to scale up capital spending. Allocation for doubling has risen 30% from Rs 29,026 crore in the FY26 revised estimate to Rs 37,750 crore in FY27, while overall capex is budgeted to rise 10.5% to Rs 2.93 lakh crore from Rs 2.65 lakh crore in FY26. Railways’ capex allocation remained largely unchanged at around Rs 2.6 lakh crore between FY24 and FY26, before rising to a record high in FY27.
The panel has also called for a zone-wise and business segment-wise performance monitoring system with annual targets for freight and traffic revenue, energy consumption, asset utilisation and non-fare revenues.