Indian Railways Leases Prime Land to Boost Infrastructure Funding

As of October 2025, the Indian Railways, the country's largest landowner, has been actively leasing out prime parcels of land across major cities to raise funds for infrastructure development and expansion. This comes after the railways missed its initial monetization target by over Rs 1.2 lakh crore under the National Monetization Pipeline.

In September 2025, the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), the railways' land development arm, invited bids to lease out approximately 10.11 hectares of land in Mumbai, aiming to raise at least Rs 8,000 crore. These land parcels are located in prime areas such as Mahalaxmi, Parel, and Bandra East, with the potential for residential and commercial development.

The railways plans to lease close to 110 hectares of land in Mumbai in a phased manner, as part of its broader strategy to commercially exploit its surplus land holdings across the country. In total, the RLDA is looking to lease out nearly 340 hectares of land in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Amritsar to boost its non-fare revenue and fund ongoing infrastructure projects.

The move to monetize railway land is a crucial part of the government's efforts to transform the national carrier into a more self-sustaining and commercially vibrant network. As of 2025, the railways' non-fare revenue accounted for just 4.5% of its total earnings, significantly lower than global peers like Germany's Deutsche Bahn and Japan Railways.