India’s official rail budget lists a 2026-27 passenger revenue estimate above NDTV Profit’s ticket-revenue projection, but the figures may differ in scope or period covered.
NDTV Profit reported Nov. 11, citing unnamed government sources, that Indian Railways generated ₹8,000 crore more revenue during the festive period than a year earlier. It also said passenger ticket revenue could reach ₹64,000 crore in fiscal 2026-27, against a ₹62,000 crore target. The outlet did not identify the dates in its year-over-year comparison or define the revenue measure.
A March 2026 report by the Lok Sabha Standing Committee on Railways puts the 2026-27 passenger revenue budget estimate at ₹87,300 crore. It lists a revised estimate of ₹80,000 crore for 2025-26, down from that year’s original budget estimate of ₹92,800 crore. The committee said the 2026-27 target was based on 7,709 million originating passengers and 1,230 billion passenger-kilometers.
The Ministry of Railways reported passenger revenue of about ₹80,000 crore in 2025-26, compared with ₹75,500 crore in 2024-25.
The ministry also reported about 20 million passenger movements across five major stations in the Delhi area from Oct. 1 to Nov. 5, 2026. Average daily footfall rose from nearly 500,000 to about 800,000 during Nov. 1-5. The figures count movements, not unique travelers. The ministry said it arranged additional special trains and crowd-management measures, without linking them to a specific revenue increase.
The station figures show a seasonal rise in passenger movement, but do not verify the reported ticket receipts. NDTV Profit did not explain how its ₹62,000 crore target relates to the official annual estimate, and the sources do not establish whether the two revenue figures cover the same categories or periods.
