Budget 2026 expectations: With just a day left for the Union Budget 2026, expectations from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are rising, especially for key sectors like railways that serve as the backbone of the country.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver her Budget 2026 presentation at 11 am on Sunday, 1 February, marking her ninth consecutive Budget speech.
With the FM slated to present the India Budget tomorrow, experts are expecting more allocation towards the railway sector — which had last year benefitted from the Budget. Railways have for years remained a key area for Budget allocation, as the sector remains crucial to further India’s economic goals.
Here is what you may expect from Budget 2026 in terms of allocation for the railway sector.
Budget 2026: What’s in store for railways?
According to a survey of 29 economists by Bloomberg, they expect the government to raise spending on roads, ports and railways, expand incentive schemes to boost exports, and reform the import-duty regime. The government has led the push for infrastructure capital expenditure through the roads and railways sectors, both of which are expected to receive higher allocations in the budget, as per the news agency. Modernisation of the nationwide railway network — with a focus on safety, speed and passenger comfort — is likely to remain a key priority.
According to analysts from Motilal Oswal, a capex increase is expected in India Budget 2026 for the railways sector.
“We expect a rise in the capex for railways, which could go up by 8-10% YoY. Higher budgeted capex in the abovementioned infrastructure projects should lead to higher project awarding in the rail and road segments, which should benefit infrastructure names under our coverage,” the analysts said in a note.
Experts at Bajaj Broking said that the Budget is likely to show increased focus on safety systems like Kavach, station modernisation, and faster project execution.
“Strategic Budgetary investments in port-led, multimodal connectivity—particularly rail-based freight corridors, inland terminals, logistics hubs, and green infrastructure—will reduce trade costs, improve manufacturing productivity, create employment, and accelerate GDP growth” Rizwan Soomar, CEO and managing director, MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and India Subcontinent, DP World, told Livemint in a statement.
What happened in Budget 2025?
In Budget 2025, the Centre maintained the government’s continuous push to improve Railways by allocating ₹2.52 lakh crore to it, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said.
In her Budget speech, FM Sitharaman said, “Railways will develop new products and efficient logistics services for small farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises, besides taking the lead in integration of Postal and Railways networks to provide seamless solutions for movement of parcels.”
“As a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat, 2,000 km of network will be brought under Kavach, the indigenous world-class technology for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23. Four hundred new-generation Vande Bharat Trains with better energy efficiency and passenger riding experience will be developed and manufactured during the next three years,” she added.
Talking about the allocations separately, Railway Minister Vaishnaw had said that the Union Budget had allocated ₹4.6 lakh crore for infrastructure development projects, and ₹1.16 lakh crore to facilitate safety across the network through various projects.
He added that 100 Amrit Bharat, 50 Namo Bharat and 200 Vande Bharat — both sleepers as well as chair car variants — will be manufactured in the next two to three years.
According to Vaishnaw, the total budget was ₹2.64 lakh crore when PPP investments are combined to it. “It is a big and comprehensive effort to improve Railways,” he said.
