RITES eyes export-Led growth as order book swells to ₹1,400 Cr; Execution, new markets in focus

Rahul Mithal, Chairman and Managing Director, RITES Ltd

State-run Railway PSU, RITES Ltd is ramping up its export ambitions with an active order book of ₹1,400 crore, marking a sharp 17 per cent uptick from ₹1,200 crore a year ago.

The company, which recently dispatched its first batch of two locomotives (of an order of 10) to Mozambique and is working on a mega coach order for Bangladesh Railways, is now doubling down on physical execution and market expansion across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, Rahul Mithal, Chairman and Managing Director, RITES Ltd, said.

“We’re targeting a substantial revenue push from exports and turnkey projects starting Q3, with execution activity picking up across multiple geographies,” he told businessline.

The FY26 order book, currently at ₹8,800 crore, includes ₹2,900 crore in consultancy, ₹4,200 crore in turnkey, and ₹1,400 crore in exports.

While the fresh export order inflow is from South Africa (the recent one of ₹31 crore), execution of the existing orders from Mozambique ( ₹300 crore) and Bangladesh ( ₹900 crore) are already in-motion.

The Bangladesh contract, covering 200 coaches of seven different designs, is back on track after initial delays. Prototypes for four coach variants are expected to ready by year-end, with at least one 20-coach rake likely to be shipped before the financial yearends.

Mithal said, RITES is converting in-service diesel locomotives to cape-gauge for four clients in South Africa, a move that could unlock long-term opportunities in locomotive retrofits.

“This will allow us to tap a different segment of the export market,” he said.

Meanwhile, inroads into the Middle East have yielded a consultancy project in Jordan and strategic MoUs with Etihad Rail, DP World and AD Ports.

“The goal is to sustain one export order a quarter. We’ve managed to do that over the last six quarters, and we expect that trend to continue,” Mithal said.

On an average, RITES is securing ₹40-50 crore worth of export orders every quarter for the last four-to- six quarters.

Even as the company shifts gears from order acquisition to execution, it is targeting a total order book of ₹10,000 crore by the end of FY26, banking on steady international momentum and accelerated project delivery under its internal “Operation Tattva” initiative— focussing on three core non-negotiables, uncompromised quality, controlled costs, and on-time delivery.

IMEC project

RITES is also pushing ahead with a Ministry of Shipping-led pilot under the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC), creating a digital platform for seamless customs and trade document exchange between Indian and UAE ports.

Development work for the platform MAITRI (Master Application for International Trade & Regulatory Interface), dubbed a “multi-plug adapter” for disparate logistics data exchange systems, is underway with a rollout expected in the coming months.

Published on August 8, 2025

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}