Railway stocks on a roll ahead of Budget

MUMBAI: Shares of railways related stocks gained about 5 per cent in intraday trade today ahead of the Railway Budget on July 8 on hopes of increase in government spending and reforms.

All rail-linked stocks rallied - Titagarh Wagons, Kalindee Rail Nirman, Kernex Microsystems and Texmaco Rail & Engineering.

The government is planning to start futuristic railway projects such as diamond quadrilateral for high speed trains. There has been emphasis on safety, security and passenger amenities. There are likely to be announcements in this direction in order to improve travel experience.

The government recently raised passenger fares and freight charges in a move to address economic imbalances. Analysts are expecting some more bold decisions to make railways a better transport system

"Seeing the recent trend and level of activities, I am sure that the Government of today will come up with several innovative and out of the box ideas and policy announcements to achieve a quantum jump in freight traffic as well as introduce modern, safe and comfortable passenger services," said Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Titagarh Wagons.