NEW DELHI, Jan 8 Reuters Staterun Indian Railways has spent more than 22 billion so far in the current fiscal year, focusing on projects to expand capacity and deliver faster and safer travel to passengers, the government said on Wednesday.

The government is pushing to open new lines and expand electrification as part of efforts to achieve net zero carbon emissions on the railways by 2030.

By Jan. 5, the railways had spent 1.92 trillion rupees 22.37 billion of its 2.65 trillion rupees overall budget for the fiscal year, which runs from April to March. This included 344.12 billion rupees 4 billion spent on safetyrelated works and 403.67 billion rupees 4.7 billion on rolling stock, the government said in a statement.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who will present her annual budget for 202526 early next month, is expected to announce an increase in allocation for railways from the 2.52 trillion rupees allocated for the current fiscal year.

The railway, which operates a network of over 68,000 km 42,000 miles, is projected to earn 2.8 trillion rupees in 202425 from passenger and freight traffic, an 8 increase from the previous fiscal year. It is targeting 2.76 trillion rupees in operational spending.

The fruits of consistent capital expenditure over the past decade are evident in the form of 136 Vande Bharat trains, 97 electrification of broadgauge lines, and major upgrades to infrastructure, including new lines, gauge conversion, and track doubling, the statement…