NEW DELHI, May 14 -- The ministry of railways is planning to dilute 5-10% stakes in six listed railway public sector undertakings and another 2-3% in another listed company through offer-for-sale transactions in FY27, as part of a broader push to meet a Rs.2.62 trillion monetization target under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP 2.0), two people aware of the matter said. The seven listed railway PSUs are Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. (IRCTC), Indian Railway Finance Corp. (IRFC), Ircon International, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, RITES Ltd, RailTel Corp. of India, and Container Corp. of India (Concor). The planned sales mark a portfolio-wide monetization strategy across the listed railway ecosystem, while ensuring the government retains management control in all key entities. In Concor, where the government holds 54.80%, the dilution will be limited to 2-3% to keep its stake above 51%, one of the persons said. In the remaining six listed railway PSUs, the government is expected to continue as majority shareholder. "The partial stake sales in listed railway companies will form a key pillar of the strategy, allowing the government to unlock value while retaining management control," this person said. At current market prices, a 5% stake sale across the six PSUs could fetch between Rs.15,000 crore and Rs.20,000 crore for the exchequer. Realizations could nearly double if a 10% dilution plan is approved, though the final quantum and timing will depend on market conditions and investor appetite, the second person said. The railways has been assigned a Rs.2.62 trillion monetization target under the second phase of NMP, announced in the Union budget for FY26, covering the period 2026-2030. The stake-sale builds on earlier use of OFS routes. The government sold a 2% stake in IRFC earlier this month, with future transactions expected to be calibrated to valuations and secondary market liquidity, the second person said. Queries emailed to the ministries of railways and finance as well as the secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) remained unanswered till press time. Queries sent to the PSUs mentioned also remained unanswered. Most railway-linked PSU stocks traded higher on Wednesday afternoon, even as broader market sentiment remained volatile, with shares of IRCTC trading at Rs.539 apiece, RVNL at Rs.288.15, and IRFC at Rs.101.80. Ircon International was at Rs.146.84, RITES at Rs.214.65, RailTel at Rs.324.45, and Concor traded at Rs.521.65. The proposed stake sales come at a time when the Indian Railways is undertaking sustained capital expenditure on dedicated freight corridors, station redevelopment, rolling stock modernization and multimodal logistics integration, alongside flagship train rollouts such as Vande Bharat Express services. "This is a good development as otherwise railways has not been able to get significant private investment through PPP (public-private partnership). Further, while railway stocks have corrected in the last few months, but even after such corrections, OFS will generate a very large amount for the government," Kuljit Singh, partner and national infrastructure leader, EY India, said....