India has the fourth-largest railway system in the world, lagging behind only US, Russia and China.
The Indian rail network is spread across more than 67,000 km (approximately 93,000 running track km) with about 7,300 stations. The railways run close to 13,000 passenger trains that carry over 23 mn passengers daily. The Indian Railways transported over 1.2 bn tons of freight in 2017-18.
Indian Railways is the single largest employer in India and eighth largest in the world; employing close to 1.4 mn people.
100% FDI allowed in railway infrastructure under the automatic route.
For further details, please refer FDI Policy
Passenger traffic growth (2011-17)
Freight traffic growth (2011-18)
Average daily passengers
Revenue from freight traffic (2016-17)
4th largest railway system in the world
4th largest rail freight carrier in the world
Single largest employer in India and 8th largest in the world
Indian Railways aspires to add 1.5% to the country’s GDP by building infrastructure to support 40% modal freight share of the economy.
Two Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC), one on the Western route (Jawaharlal Nehru Port to Dadri) and another on the Eastern route (Ludhiana to Dankuni), have been fast-tracked.
The Indian Railways is looking to award 6 tenders worth $ 1.2 bn, for setting up a country-wide electricity transmission network as part of a strategy to reduce electricity bills.
Alstom's rail locomotive plant in Madhepura, Bihar, starts production of the first electric railway engine, GE imports prototype of diesel locomotive to be manufactured at Marhaura.
CIDB Holding (Malaysia) to invest $ 774.5 mn in the redevelopment of Udaipur, Howrah, Indore, Secunderabad, Pune and Faridabad railway stations.
Indian Railways is planning to award 6 tenders worth $ 1.2 bn for setting up a countrywide electricity transmission network as part of a strategy to reduce electricity bills.
Solar panels on the rooftop of narrow gauge trains
$ 17 bn investments for 35 bullet trains by 2022
To reduce the traveling time between the metropolis
Electrification of more than 10,000 km by 2019
Re-development of over 400 stations across the country
Construction of 5 dedicated freight corridors
Dedicated Freight Corridor Project [Hyderabad-Krishnapatnam]
This policy supersedes the R3i and R2CI policies notified earlier. The policy provides for supplementing government’s investment in rail infrastructure projects by private capital flows.
The policy contains the following models:
1) Non-government railway.
2) JV with equity participation by railways.
3) Capacity augmentation through funding by customers
4) Capacity augmentation – annuity model applicability.
5) Build Operate Transfer.
A few projects undertaken under the participative policy of Ministry of Railways include Jaigarh Port-Digni Port, Hamarpur-Rewas Port, Chiplun-Karad, Vaibhavwadi-Kolhapur and Indore-Manmad.
This new policy was initiated to improve rail connectivity to coal and iron ore mines. The policy offers the developer involved in the construction of the line to levy a surcharge on the freight over a period of 10–25 years.
The policy has two models, i.e. Capital Cost and SPV Models. The Capital Cost Model is relevant when there are 2 players, whereas the SPV Model is intended for a large number of players.
The policy aims to attract private sector participation in rail connectivity projects to create additional rail transport capacity. The policy allows for 4 models:
a) Cost Sharing-Freight Rebate.
b) Full Contribution- Apportioned Earnings.
c) Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
d) Private Line.
The Ministry of Railways, Government of India, has launched the Smart Freight Operation Optimisation & Real Time Information (SFOORTI) application to optimise freight operations and manage traffic flows.
The Government of India is going to come up with a ‘National Rail Plan’ which will enable the country to integrate its rail network with other modes of transport and develop a multi-modal transportation network.
By: Invest India
By: Invest India
By: Invest India
By: Invest India
By: Invest India
By: Sanchi Padia
By: Shivam Batham
By: Preet Deep Singh
By: Anusha Agarwal
