The Indian Railways is amongst the world’s largest rail networks. Spread over 115,000 km, with 12,617 passenger trains and 7,421 freight trains each day from 7,172 stations plying 23 million travellers and 3 million tonnes (MT) of freight daily, India's railway network is recognised as one of the largest railway systems in the world under single management.
The Government of India has focused on investing on railway infrastructure by making investor-friendly policies. It has moved quickly to enable Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in railways to improve infrastructure for freight and high-speed trains. At present, several domestic and foreign companies are also looking to invest in Indian rail projects.
The Indian Railway network is growing at a healthy rate. In the next five years, the Indian railway market will be the third largest, accounting for 10 per cent of the global market. Indian Railways, which is one of the country's biggest employers, can generate one million jobs.
In order to develop three new arms of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) in various regions of the country, the Indian Government is planning to invest Rs 3,30,000 crores ($50.98 billion). Also, Indian Railways is planning to invest in adopting European Train Control Systems (ETCS) which will help in the development of infrastructural facilities.