Record railways allocation to boost manufacturing, logistics: Industry

Rail sector leaders on Sunday welcomed the Union Budgets record allocation for Indian Railways, saying the sharp focus on high-speed corridors, freight infrastructure and safety-led modernisation would significantly boost manufacturing, logistics efficiency and regional connectivity, including in eastern India.

Rail sector leaders on Sunday welcomed the Union Budget's record allocation for Indian Railways, saying the sharp focus on high-speed corridors, freight infrastructure and safety-led modernisation would significantly boost manufacturing, logistics efficiency and regional connectivity, including in eastern India. The Budget earmarked around Rs 2.77 lakh crore for Indian Railways, the highest-ever allocation, reinforcing railways as a central pillar for India's infrastructure and freight strategy. Titagarh Rail Systems vice-chairman and MD Umesh Chowdhary said the Budget underlined the government's ''unwavering commitment'' to transforming India's rail and freight ecosystem. ''The landmark push for seven high-speed rail corridors as a national connectivity strategy, along with modernisation and expanded capital spending, will support growth and safety enhancements,'' he said. Chowdhary said Titagarh's manufacturing facilities were fully prepared to support high-speed train production under the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme. He also welcomed the continued rollout of Vande Bharat trains, including full-scale 24-coach Vande Bharat sleeper trains, noting that it builds on the company's existing execution capabilities in sleeper train manufacturing. He further highlighted the Rs 10,000 crore support scheme aimed at building a globally competitive domestic container manufacturing industry. ''This aligns with our planned expansion into container manufacturing and enables us to contribute meaningfully to India's growing containerised freight movement,'' Chowdhary said. Texmaco Rail and Engineering MD Sudipta Mukherjee said the Budget firmly positioned railways at the heart of India's infrastructure and logistics roadmap. ''The announcement of seven high-speed rail corridors as growth connectors, along with a new Dedicated Freight Corridor between Dankuni and Surat, will significantly enhance passenger mobility, freight efficiency and regional economic integration,'' he said. Mukherjee said a capital outlay of around Rs 2.65 lakh crore for railways, combined with investments in safety systems such as Kavach, track doubling, new lines and the rollout of Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat trains, provided strong demand visibility across rolling stock, wagons and rail engineering. Industry executives said eastern India, particularly West Bengal, stands to gain from the proposed Dankuni-Surat Dedicated Freight Corridor, which will strengthen Bengal's role as a key freight and logistics gateway linking ports, industrial clusters and hinterland markets. The continued expansion of Vande Bharat services and capacity augmentation on high-density routes is also expected to improve passenger connectivity from Kolkata and nearby regions. Mukherjee said the Budget aligns rail development with the PM GatiShakti framework, focusing on multimodal connectivity, reduced logistics costs and Make-in-India manufacturing. ''It strengthens India's ambition to emerge as a global hub for modern rail engineering, manufacturing and exports,'' he added. Overall, industry players said the Budget's rail-centric push would support long-term manufacturing growth in eastern India while enhancing safety, speed and freight efficiency across the national rail network.

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