Railway Stocks soar: Whats driving the investor Buzz in Railways sector?

New Delhi: Railway stocks are in the limelight again, because the shares of IRCTC, Jupiter Wagons, IRCON and other railway companies jumped on Tuesday. This increased the growth in the sector and buyers came back to this sector. Union Budget 2026 is only a few weeks away. There have been reports that the government may increase its expenditure for the Railways in the Union Budget coming in February.

On Tuesday, December 23, shares of Ircon International rose 13.11 percent to an intraday high of Rs 177.38 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), during which time trading volumes were higher than usual. Shares of Ircon International were witnessing higher trading volume than usual.

Over 4 crore shares were traded on the NSE, while the average trading volume was 22.49 lakh shares, which means the trading volume increased by almost 18 times. On BSE, 29.35 lakh shares were traded against the average of 2.43 lakh shares traded daily in the last two weeks.

Shares of Jupiter Wagons rose for the second consecutive session and the stock rose by 38 percent to 358 rupees in two days.

These stocks also gained momentum

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) increased by 3.5 percent. IRFC rose 4.65 percent, Titagarh rail system increased by 3.78 percent, IRCTC lost intraday growth and did flat business and RITES increased by about 8 percent.

Indian Railways has announced a revised rental structure with effect from December 26, 2025. Under the revised railway fare, passengers travelling for 500 km will have to pay an additional Rs 10 for both AC and non-AC coaches. Meanwhile, short distance trips will not be affected because there is no increase in fares for trips of less than 215 km in ordinary class.

For trips of more than 215 km, the fare will be increased by 1 paise per km in ordinary class and 2 paise per km for mail/express non-AC and AC class. Indian Railways has clarified that its move to increase fares, mainly on the long route, is to generate revenue to meet the increased expenses. The fare hike is estimated to increase railways' earnings by Rs 600 million, which will help cover rising manpower costs and other expenses.

Investors' interest in railways' stock once again is not a coincidence. Sectors with high capital expenditure usually draw attention ahead of the union budget and market expectations for Budget 2026-27 include a possible 10-12% increase in railway capital spending, which could reach about Rs 2.76 trillion. It is expected that the proposed expenditure will support the next phase of modernization, which includes introducing 300-400 Vande Bharat sleeper trains and doubling the allocation for the Kavach Suraksha System.