Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, today said it plans to raise Rs 6,300 crore from tax-free bonds to fund railway construction projects.

The company proposes to issue tax-free, secured, redeemable, non-convertible bonds of Rs 1,000 face value each in the nature of debentures, aggregating to Rs 3,000 crore, with an option to retain over-subscription up to the shelf limit of Rs 6,300 crore, IRFC said in a statement.

The company intends to utilise the issue proceeds for financing the acquisition of rolling stock and financing capacity enhancement works in the Indian Railways, it said.

The bonds with 10-year maturity carry a coupon rate of 8 per cent, while 15-year papers will have a 8.10 per cent coupon rate.

An additional coupon rate of 0.15 per cent and 0.20 per cent, respectively, is available for retail investors. Retail category investors can subscribe to bonds worth up to Rs 5 lakh.

The issue opens on January 27 and closes on February 10, 2012, it said.

The bonds would be listed on the National Stock Exchange and BSE.

Last month, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) floated its first-ever tax-free bonds issue worth Rs 10,000 crore.