Derailed! Why did railway stocks slide up to 7% post FM's Budget speech?

Budget 2025: The majority of railway stocks plunged in intra-day trade on Saturday, February 1, after the Finance Minister's Budget speech concluded today. Contrary to expectations, the Union Budget did not unveil any specific announcements for the railway stocks, disappointing investors.

While the capital expenditure for the financial year 2025-26 (FY26) witnessed a near 10% uptick to ₹11.2 lakh crore from ₹11.11 crore over the last year, the allocation for the railway sector has remained unchanged.

According to the Budget document, the allocation for the railways sector has remained unchanged at ₹2.55 lakh crore for FY26. The figure stood at ₹2.55 lakh crore in the previous financial year as well.

Market expectations were high that the government would boost the capex for the railway sector, which did not materialise.

Railway stocks down up to 7%

Following this backdrop, railway stocks witnessed a decline. Texmaco Rail, Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) and Ircon International emerged as the worst-performing stocks in the railway pack, shedding over 7% each.

While IRCON was down 7.27% at ₹205.45 apiece around 1.30 pm, shares of Texmaco Rail tanked 7.63% to ₹181.60. Meanwhile, RVNL was at ₹441.10, down 7.42%.

Titagarh Railways followed suit, down 6% at ₹955.95 per share. Meanwhile, PSU stock IRFC declined 6% and IRCTC 3%.

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