Modi govt plans biggest-ever rail safety spend of Rs 1.3 trillion: Report

(File photo)

• India plans record Rs 1.3 trillion rail safety budget for FY27, up 12% from FY23.
• Funds to enhance track renewals, rolling stock, and Kavach protection system
• Rail accidents per million km dropped 73% from FY15 to FY24; safety is top priority.

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Heightened scrutiny over train accidents has pushed rail safety to the centre of the government's spending plans, with the Centre weighing its largest-ever allocation for the sector. The proposed outlay for safety-related works could cross Rs 1.3 trillion in FY27, people familiar with the matter told Mint.

The allocation-about 12% higher than the current year's budget-is expected to be channelled into upkeep of rolling stock and core infrastructure such as track renewals, along with scaling up Kavach, India's indigenous automatic train protection system, one of the people said on condition of anonymity.

Safety has emerged as a key political and public priority for Indian Railways. The planned increase would mark a sharp recalibration of capital spending, with safety works likely to account for nearly half of total railway capex in FY27. Overall capital expenditure is projected to rise to around Rs 2.76 trillion from Rs 2.52 trillion this year.

While accident rates have fallen sharply over the past decade, recent mishaps have kept safety in sharp focus. The deadliest incident this year involved a collision near Bilaspur, where a MEMU passenger train overshot a red signal and rammed into a stationary freight train, killing 11 people and injuring more than 20.

Emails sent to the ministries of railways and finance on Monday did not elicit a response by press time.

Railways recorded 31 accidents in FY25 and 10 "consequential" accidents in the current fiscal up to November. Such accidents include collisions, fires and derailments that result in loss of life or property. Between FY15 and FY24, 678 consequential accidents led to 748 fatalities.

Officials point to a marked improvement in operational safety indicators. Accidents per million train kilometres declined from 0.11 in FY15 to 0.03 in FY24-a 73% improvement. To sustain this trajectory, the government has extended the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK), under which more than Rs 1.08 trillion has already been spent on upgrading critical assets.

Mint had reported on 19 November that Indian Railways is preparing to step up capital spending next year.

The safety budget for FY26 stands at Rs 1.16 trillion, only a marginal 2% rise over FY25's Rs 1.14 trillion. In FY24, spending on safety works was Rs 1.01 trillion, compared with Rs 87,327 crore in FY23.

Kavach has been designated as India's national automatic train protection system, designed to apply brakes automatically if a loco pilot fails to respond, including during poor visibility. So far, Kavach has been deployed on 1,465 route kilometres and 121 locomotives. Kavach 4.0 is being rolled out over 15,512 route kilometres, but overall operational coverage remains just over 2% of the roughly 67,000-km rail network.

Some experts argue that money alone will not ensure safer operations.

"There is no shortage of funds for Indian Railways, whether for safety, track renewals, new rolling stock or station development," said Shubhranshu, a railway professional and former chief of Rail Wheel Plant, Bela, who also led the design and production of the Vande Bharat Express. "Over Rs 1 trillion each is already committed for Kavach, track renewals, upgrades and new rolling stock over the next few years."

He added that organisational discipline plays a bigger role than capital spending. "Most safety gains come from proper maintenance, training, accountability and top-down motivation. These don't need huge funds. Investment by itself doesn't guarantee safety."

Spending on safety-related projects has surged over time, rising 2.5 times-from Rs 70,273 crore during FY05-FY14 to Rs 1.78 lakh crore in FY15-FY24. Track renewal expenditure increased 2.33 times over the same period, from Rs 47,018 crore to Rs 1.09 lakh crore.

The anticipated rise in safety spending will largely go towards maintenance of tracks, locomotives and coaches, signalling upgrades, replacing mechanical signalling with electronic interlocking, interlocking unmanned level crossings, full track circuiting, high-strength rails, GPS-based fog safety devices and faster Kavach deployment.

For FY26, railways have earmarked Rs 22,800 crore for track renewals, Rs 58,895 crore for rolling stock and maintenance, Rs 8,601 crore for traffic facilities and Rs 6,150 crore for electrification.

The expanding safety push has also opened up opportunities for global mobility firms such as Siemens and Alstom across locomotives and signalling projects.

"The fall in accidents and fatalities has largely come from long-term steps like eliminating unmanned level crossings, better track quality and the introduction of LHB coaches," said Sudhanshu Mani, former general manager of Indian Railways and the architect of the Vande Bharat Express.

"The next goal should be a zero-failure regime, which will require meaningful use of AI to detect near-misses and a much faster rollout of fail-safe signalling. Kavach showed promise, but its pace of expansion has been underwhelming," he said.

Signalling upgrades have gathered pace, with electronic interlocking stations increasing 3.5 times to 2,964 during FY15-FY24, and automatic block signalling expanding from 1,486 km to 2,497 km. Production of safer LHB coaches jumped nearly 16-fold to 36,933, while complete track circuiting has been implemented at 6,609 stations.

"Railways' growing focus on safety is clearly pushing the system towards technology-led solutions," said Sourajit Mukherjee, director and CEO of E2E Rail and Nova Control Technologix. "The adoption of Kavach, electronic interlocking, axle counters and LTE-based train radio systems signals a shift away from mechanical signalling and has contributed to the sustained decline in accidents."