Budget 2023: From increased capex to Vande Bharat trains, what to expect from FM Nirmala Sitharaman - check likely announcements

Railway Budget 2023: Union Budget for the financial year 2023-24 will be presented on February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Like every year, people look forward to the Railway Budget and await announcements about new trains, new fares, new facilities. This year, many big announcements are expected in this budget for the Railways.

Earlier, in the pre-budget meeting, the Railway Board demanded 25-30 per cent more funds from the Finance Ministry in the budget allocation (Union Budget 2023). 
Railway Budget 2023

The Indian Railways' gross budget allocation is likely to be increased from Rs 1.4 trillion to Rs 2 trillion as to support future infrastructure investments.

Railway Budget 2023: Infrastructure

The funds are likely to be used for the construction of new lines, gauge change, electrification and better signalling. Apart from this, the Railways also has its focus on building better domestic infrastructure for the manufacture of trains. In this, a plan is also being made to reduce foreign dependence on the wheels of trains.

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Railway Budget 2023: More Vande Bharat Express

Emphasis could be laid on making new Vande Bharat Express train and Vande Bharat 2.0 with a sleeper facility.

Moreover, plans for new Vande Bharat with a sleeper can also be unveiled in the budget. Vande Bharat currently has only a chair-car seating arrangement, but it may soon have sleeper berths. With this, passengers will get the facility of sleeping while traveling over long distances. These trains will work like Rajdhani Express, in which passengers will also get the facility of Sleeper AC Coach.

Moreover, the manufacturing of more than 100 new Vande Bharat trains can be announced in the budget. Apart from this, the government can also focus on automatic train protection system armor in this budget. In addition to this, the route can be expanded for train protection.

Railway Budget 2023: Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train 

The Modi government's ambitious Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project could also get a push in the upcoming budget. The project is expected to receive a significant portion of the funds.

Railway budget- Part of the general budget

Earlier, the Railway Budget used to be presented separately in the country. The budget was presented by the Minister of Railways. The Rail Budget used to be presented before the Union Budget. 

The merger of the Railway Budget with the General Budget was based on the recommendations of the Committee headed by Shri Bibek Debroy, a member of NITI Aayog.

In 2017, the Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget and the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented it along with the budget.

What was the railway revenue expenditure in the budget 2022-23?

As per PRS India, the total revenue expenditure by Railways for 2022-23 was projected to be Rs 2,34,640 crore, an increase of 17% over revised estimates of 2021-22.

Also, read- Budget 2023: How does India earn? What is the math behind it?