Indian Railways has attracted USD 942 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow from 2014-15 to 2025-26 (up to December 2025), including investments under the automatic route, according to an official statement. This investment supports efforts to strengthen railway infrastructure and improve global competitiveness.
Under the Government’s FDI Policy Circular dated October 15, 2020, as amended, 100% FDI is permitted under the automatic route in the Railway Infrastructure sector. Permitted areas include the construction, operation and maintenance of suburban corridor projects through public-private partnerships, high-speed train projects, dedicated freight lines, rolling stock such as trainsets and locomotives/coaches manufacturing and maintenance facilities, railway electrification, signalling systems, freight and passenger terminals, industrial infrastructure related to railway lines and sidings including electrified railway lines and connectivity to main railway lines, and mass Rapid Transport Systems.
The Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for capital investment in Railways was Rs 29,055 crore in 2013-14. To support network expansion, rolling stock augmentation, safety improvements, passenger amenities, road safety works and technology upgrades, the Government of India has increased the GBS annually, allocating Rs 2.78 lakh crore for 2026-27. Sufficient domestic funding has enabled the Indian Railway sector to invest significantly in infrastructure and technology to compete globally.
As part of ongoing international technical collaboration, the Ministry of Railways has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Spain and other countries. These MoUs cover technical cooperation in freight and passenger operations (multimodal transport), high-speed rail development, IT solutions for railway operations and administration, and predictive maintenance of assets, according to the release.
Over the past decade, India has developed a diverse railway manufacturing ecosystem that includes Indian Railways’ production units and an industry base. Currently, Indian industry manufactures nearly the entire range of railway rolling stock such as locomotives, passenger coaches, wagons, and critical components including traction motors, gear boxes, motorised bogies, traction transformers, metro cars, propulsion systems, traction and auxiliary converters, cable harnesses, electronic cards and magnetics.
These products are exported to both developed and developing countries including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the USA, France, Germany, Mozambique, Mexico, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Romania, Spain and Italy.
With this supportive ecosystem in place, from 2016-17 to 2025-26 (up to January 2026), the total value of railway sector exports from India has reached approximately USD 3,355 million (about Rs 26,000 crore).
This information was provided by Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in response to a question in Lok Sabha.
