Railway Stocks: 10 Best Railway Shares to Invest in 2024

Railway Stocks Overview

Indian Railways is a statutory body, founded on 6 May 1836 under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. The Indian Railway network spreads across 68 thousand kilometers and is said to be the fourth largest railway network in the world. It is the largest employer in India and employs more than 1.4 million people. Indian Railways is directly linked to different industries such as infrastructure, hospitality, and construction, and therefore the demand for railway stocks is on the rise.

Best Indian Railway Stocks

Here is the list of the top 10 public and private railway stocks in India.

Top Railway Shares to Invest/Buy

The top 5 Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and subsidiaries of the Indian Railway under the Ministry of Railways are IRCTC, CONCOR, IRFC, RVNL, and RITES Limited. 

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited 

• IRCTC is a public sector company established in 1999 under the Ministry of Railways having a  67.40% ownership. It is a Mini Ratna company. It provides internet ticketing, catering, and tourism services at railway stations, trains, and in other locations. 
• Its mobile application and website consist of an E-wallet, loyalty program, railway ticket booking, etc. In addition to that, flight and hotel booking, rail Drishti, e-catering, bus service, vacation packages, tourist trains, hill Railways, and charter trains are also offered. 

Container Corporation of India Limited

• CONCOR is a holding company of Indian Railways incorporated in 1998 and the government holding of 54.8%. Its business operations include handling rail and road transportation of containers. It started its operations in 1989 after the Indian Railways handed over a network of seven inland container depots to them.
• The company has two divisions, namely Domestic and EXIM which work in the business of handling, transportation, and warehousing. Its domestic services include terminal handling fees, door delivery, pickups, and a volume discount scheme. 
• For EXIM locations at the terminal and inland container depot, software using the web-based application is helpful for importers, exporters, or shipping agent filing their documents, billing, and taking printouts for the same.

Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited

• IRFC is the financing arm of the Ministry of Railways established in 1986 and comes in the top 5 Indian Railway Share List. IRFC, a wholly-owned subsidiary, has a government holding of 86.4% stake. It was set up with the sole purpose of borrowing funds to minimize the borrowing costs of Indian Railways and focuses on leasing, lending and borrowing operations.
• The company successfully raised ₹ 1,04,369 crores and achieved its highest-ever target of raising funds for the railways. They have also raised the funds for various entities in the railway sector such as RVNL, KRCL, IRCON, Rail Land Development Authority, Railtel Corporation, etc.

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited

• RVNL comes in fourth on the railway share list. It was formed as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) in 2003 for undertaking infrastructure projects of the Ministry of Railways. These projects include the installation of railroad tracks, the upgradation of tracks and railway electrification, and the building of major bridges and metro-rail projects. 
• It handles the entire project development cycle from thinking about the concept to the final product including preparation and estimation of all design stages, contract calling, and its management.
• RVNL has implemented various rail infrastructures projects such as Diva-Kalyan 5th and 6th Lines, Gurup-Saktigarh Extension of 3rd Line, Jakhapura-Haridaspur 3rd Line, Karjoda-Palanpur Doubling and Civil Engineering Works in association with Diesel Loco Component Factory, Dankuni. Currently, RVNL is concentrating on funding and implementing Golden Quadrilateral reinforcement projects.

RITES Limited

• Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, popularly known as RITES is a wholly owned subsidiary of Indian Railways. It is a government-owned engineering consulting company founded in 1974 with the purpose of providing consulting services to the rail transport industry. 
• The company has diversified businesses including road, ports and airport infrastructure and urban planning. It offers its services in about 55 nations such as Asia, Africa, Latin America, South America and Middle East countries.
• Its business segments include domestic and international consultancy, export sales, domestic leasing, turnkey construction projects and domestic power generation. Its long lists of clients include railways, highways, airports, ports, ropeways, urban transport, and inland waterways within India and foreign countries.

Conclusion

There is definitely a rise in the demand for Indian railways sector shares because of the revolution in the railway sector with its launch of high-speed trains or privatization through stake sales. The railway system will actually emerge as an engine of national growth in the next 10 years. The industry will see massive growth in capital expenditure investment in the coming years through its National Railway Plan. 

This is not an investment advisory. The blog is for information purposes only. Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Please consider your specific investment requirements, risk tolerance, goal, time frame, risk and reward balance, and the cost associated with the investment before choosing a fund, or designing a portfolio that suits your needs. The performance and returns of any investment portfolio can neither be predicted nor guaranteed.