“The railways sector will see a high level of capital expenditure over the next 10 years as capacity addition will have to be accelerated in a manner that by 2030 it is ahead of demand”
In the next 10 years, the railways sector will see a ‘very high level’ of capital expenditure (capex) to meet the passenger demand, while the share of railways in freight will increase to 40-45% from the current level. 26-27%, the Department of Economic Affairs said in the annual Economic Survey.
“There will be a very high level of capital expenditure in the railway sector over the next 10 years as capacity addition will have to be accelerated so that it can outpace demand by 2030.”
Noting that till 2014, the capital expenditure on railways was barely ₹45,980 crore per annum, the government said: “After 2014, a conscious effort was made to reform the railway sector by substantially increasing the capital expenditure. 2021-22 The capital expenditure outlay for the project is ₹2,15,000 crore, which is five times higher than the 2014 level.
It added that as more projects are taken up and multiple sources of capital funding are developed, the capital expenditure will increase further in the coming years and the railway system will indeed become an ‘engine of national growth’. will emerge as
The survey said that despite facing unprecedented COVID-related challenges, Indian Railways carried 1.23 billion tonnes of goods and 1.25 billion passengers during FY2011.
“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic revenue-earning freight traffic (excluding loading by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL)) stood at 1,230.9 million tonnes in 2020-21 as against 1,208.4 million tonnes during 2019-20. Origin of passengers in 2020 1,250 million – 21 as compared to 8,086 million in 2019-20,” it said.
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