Rail Budget to signal road to reform: Prabhu

India's decrepit state-run train services stand to receive at least a 25 per cent boost in investment to over $9 billion, say sources.

India's railway budget, to be presented later on Thursday, will signal the direction of long-term reforms needed to revamp the world's fourth-largest rail network, minister Suresh Prabhu said.

"The budget will set the direction of long and difficult road of reform," Prabhu told state-run broadcaster DD News ahead of his budget presentation. Budget 2015: Complete Coverage

India's decrepit state-run train services stand to receive at least a 25 percent boost in investment to over $9 billion, funded solely by falling fuel costs, according to officials familiar with the railway budget.