Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that the railway sector has attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows of $942 million between 2014-15 and 2025-26 (up to December 2025).
Citing the FDI policy circular dated October 15, 2020, he said 100% FDI is permitted under the automatic route in railway infrastructure. The permitted areas include suburban corridor projects through public-private partnerships, high-speed train projects, dedicated freight lines, rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance facilities, railway electrification, signalling systems, freight and passenger terminals, and mass rapid transport systems.
Vaishnaw also highlighted a sharp rise in budgetary support for the sector, with Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for capital investment increasing from ₹29,055 crore in 2013-14 to ₹2.78 lakh crore allocated for 2026-27. The higher allocation is aimed at network expansion, safety improvements, passenger amenities, road safety works and technology upgradation.
As part of international technical collaborations, the Ministry of Railways has signed memorandums of understanding with Switzerland, Germany, Russia and Spain. These focus on cooperation in freight and passenger operations, including multimodal transport, high-speed rail development, IT solutions for railway operations, and predictive maintenance of assets.
He further said India has developed a diversified railway manufacturing ecosystem over the past decade, enabling domestic production of locomotives, passenger coaches, wagons, metro cars and critical components such as traction motors, gearboxes, traction transformers and electronic systems. These are exported to several developed and developing countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Mozambique, Mexico, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Romania.
Exports from the railway sector reached $3,355 million (about ₹26,000 crore) during 2016-17 to 2025-26 (up to January 2026), he added.
