Parliament Question: Assessment of renewal work of railway tracks

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1706 ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026 ASSESSMENT OF RENEWAL WORK OF RAILWAY TRACKS 1706 SHRI NARHARI AMIN: SHRI MITHLESH KUMAR: SMT. SANGEETA YADAV: SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI: DR. ANIL SUKHDEORAO BONDE: SHRI BRIJ LAL: SHRI KESRIDEVSINH JHALA: SHRI BABURAM NISHAD: SHRI MANAN KUMAR MISHRA: SMT. RAMILABEN BECHARBHAI BARA: DR. BHAGWAT KARAD: SHRI NARAYANA KORAGAPPA: SHRI MADAN RATHORE: SHRI DEEPAK PRAKASH: SMT. SADHNA SINGH: SHRI UJJWAL DEORAO NIKAM: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the total length of railway tracks in kilometers, identified for renewal across the entire rail network, including Maharashtra; (b) the targets set for track renewal during the last four years including the year 2025-26, year-wise; (c) the length of railway track in kilometers, that has been actually renewed during the said period across the entire rail network, including Maharashtra; and (d) whether there is any pending work, if so, the details thereof, zone-wise, including Rajasthan? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d) Upgradation and renewal of tracks is a continuous and ongoing process. The track renewal is carried out as per the laid down criteria based on age, traffic carried, condition etc. Track Renewal Works are planned and executed duly prioritizing the condition of track and various other factors so as to ensure that track is safe for running of trains at permitted speed. §The details of Track renewal carried out across the entire railway network during 2014-25 (up to Dec’25) are as under: Track renewed ~ 53,000 Km The above Track renewal includes railway tracks situated in the state of Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Along with Track Renewal, following upgradation measures are being taken: i. Modern track structure consisting of 60kg, 90 Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Wider and heavier Pre-stressed Concrete Sleepers (PSC) with elastic fastening, fan-shaped layout turnout on PSC sleepers and H-beam Sleepers on girder bridges are being used while carrying out primary track renewals. ii. The Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossings are being used in turnout renewal works. iii. Supply of 260m long rail panels have been increased to avoid welding of joints, thereby improving safety. iv. Thick Web Switch Expansion Joints are being used in place of earlier Conventional/Improved SEJs. v. Adoption of better welding technology for rails i.e. Flash Butt Welding. vi. Adoption of mechanized system for track maintenance using high output plain tampers and points & crossing tampers for improved maintainability & reliability of track. vii. Deployment of state-of-the-art modern machines including Rail Grinding Machines to further improve asset reliability. viii. Mechanisation of track laying activities through use of track machines like PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc. ix. Use of advanced Phased Array technology of testing of rail and welds. x. Deployment of Integrated Track Monitoring Systems (ITMS) and Oscillation Monitoring System (OMS) for comprehensive health assessment to ascertain optimal maintenance requirements. xi. Adoption of portable Track Measuring Trolley for continuous recording of track parameters in yards. xii. Using web enabled Track Management System (TMS) for integration and data analytics of the track inspection records received through various sources to enable precise maintenance inputs. ***** §