Railway stocks sink as Budget 2025 lacks big-ticket reforms

Shares of railway stocks, including Railtel, Rail Vikas Nigan (RVNL), Ircon, Titagarh Rail Systems, Texmaco Rail, IRCTC, and IRFC, saw sharp declines of up to 8 per cent on February 1 after the Union Budget failed to introduce any major reforms and budget allocation increases for the sector.

The profit booking comes after investors had anticipated a higher budgetary push for railway infrastructure in line with past few years. Stocks of these companies had rallied swiftly in the run up to the Budget.

The budget allocation for the Railways ministry for FY26 has been unchanged at Rs 2.52 lakh crore from the previous year.

Among the biggest losers, Texmaco Rail, which manufactures freight wagons and locomotives, dropped over 8 per cent, followed by Ircon that slipped nearly 7 per cent. IRFC, Titagarh Rail sank 5 per cent each, Railtel 6 per cent, and IRCTC 3 per cent.

The sector had witnessed a strong rally in the past year, fueled by expectations of policy support, but the budget's lack of new incentives appears to have dampened sentiment.

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