Rajasthan Allocated Record ₹10,228 Crore Railway Budget
Focus on safety, infrastructure, station redevelopment, and passenger amenities
Jaipur: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw discussed the provisions made for Indian Railways in the recently presented budget via video conferencing. He stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, significant emphasis has been placed on the development of railways over the past 11 years, including safety, infrastructure expansion, modernization, and passenger amenities. For the fiscal year 2026-27, a record budget of ₹2.78 lakh crore has been allocated for Indian Railways, with ₹2.93 lakh crore earmarked for capital expenditure to accelerate infrastructure projects. Minister Vaishnaw expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for this unprecedented allocation.
Regarding Rajasthan, he highlighted that the state is vast and numerous railway projects are underway. For 2026-27, Rajasthan has been allocated ₹10,228 crore, the first time it has crossed the ₹10,000 crore mark—approximately 15 times higher than the 2009-14 allocation. 85 railway stations in the state are being developed as ‘Amrit Stations’ at a cost exceeding ₹4,500 crore, with rapid progress. The inauguration of 8 stations (Gogamedi, Fatehpur Shekhawati, Rajgarh, Deshnok, Bundi, Govindgarh, Mandawar Mahua Road, Mandalgarh) was performed by Prime Minister Modi from Deshnok.
Rajasthan currently has projects worth over ₹56,000 crore underway. Electrification has been completed for approximately 99% of the state’s rail network. Since 2014, 1,514 flyovers and underpasses have been constructed on Rajasthan rail tracks, and nearly 3,900 km of track has been laid—exceeding the total railway network of Denmark.
Infrastructure development has enabled the introduction of new trains. For better connectivity, 6 pairs of Vande Bharat trains and 1 pair of Amrit Bharat trains are operating. Popular trains like Vande Bharat from Jodhpur and Bikaner, and Swarn Nagari Express from Jaisalmer have been launched. Additionally, new train services have started from Jodhpur to Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
Minister Vaishnaw thanked the Rajasthan state government for their support in implementing railway projects and assured that all projects in the state would be completed as planned.
North Western Railway (NWR) General Manager Amitabh addressed the media, confirming that adequate budget allocations have been provided for infrastructure work in Rajasthan. He highlighted that rapid progress is being made to increase rail capacity. Most construction projects were approved in the past 2–3 years, and new lines, doubling, and gauge conversion work is being executed swiftly.
• In 2024-25, NWR completed 70 km of construction projects. This year, 94 km of new lines and doubling work has been completed. For 2026-27, the target is to complete over 300 km of new lines, doubling, and gauge conversion work.
• Currently, over 1,500 km of projects are in progress, and another 1,500 km are in various approval stages. Additionally, surveys for over 2,000 km of new lines and doubling projects are ongoing.
• Doubling of the Ratangarh–Churu (50 km) rail section was completed in 2 years, and the Churu–Sadulpur (28 km) section was completed in less than 2 years.
Regarding safety, the Kavach system is being implemented across the NWR network. Contracts for 1,586 km have been awarded, and 250 km of railways are targeted for Kavach installation in 2026-27.
• Redevelopment is underway at 77 NWR stations, with 5 stations inaugurated by the Prime Minister from Deshnok. Four stations’ redevelopment is complete, and ten more will be finished in the next two months. Work at Jaisalmer station is complete and its inauguration is imminent.
• The second entry gates at Gandhinagar Jaipur and Jaipur stations will be completed within 2–3 months.
For enhanced train operations and maintenance, new coach maintenance depots are being built. The pit at Jaisalmer and Coach Care Complex at Khatipura are in final stages, while projects in Barmer and Shri Ganganagar are approved. A dedicated facility is being developed at Bhagat Ki Kothi as a technology partner for Vande Bharat and Sleeper Vande Bharat train maintenance.
The press conference was attended by departmental heads, railway officials, and representatives from the Press Information Bureau.
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