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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 245
TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026
DEVELOPMENT OF KATIHAR JUNCTION
†*245. SHRI RAJESH RANJAN:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has formulated any plan to develop additional
yards, platforms and bypass lines at Katihar Junction in view of the
increasing rail traffic;
(b) whether the Government is preparing a detailed master plan for new rail
connectivity projects to connect the Seemanchal region of Bihar with
West Bengal and the North-Eastern States; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
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§STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED
QUESTION NO.245 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 IN LOK SABHA
(a) to (c): Katihar Junction station is served by 172 passenger trains daily.
Also, 25 Goods trains ply through the station daily. Presently, following
facilities are available at Katihar Junction Station to cater
passenger/freight traffic demand:
49 Lines
09 Platforms
04 Pit lines
02 Stabling lines
To improve connectivity in Seemanchal Region of Bihar with West Bengal
and Northeastern States, following Projects/Surveys have been
sanctioned:-
S.No. Name of the Project Status
1. Katihar-Kumedpur Katihar-Kuretha Section (11 Km)
Doubling (30 Km) has been commissioned.
3 out of 7 Major Bridges have been
completed.
All Minor Bridges have been
completed.
2. Katihar-Mukuria Doubling Katihar-Sonaili Section (17 Km) has
(35 Km) been commissioned.
3 out of 10 Major Bridges have been
completed.
2 out of 5 Station Buildings is
completed.
Page 1 of 113. Aluabari-Thakurganj Project has been sanctioned
Doubling (20 Km) recently at a cost of ₹326 crore.
4. Thakurganj-Siliguri Project has been sanctioned
Doubling (57 Km) recently ₹916 crore.
5. Aluabari Road-New Project has been sanctioned
Jalpaiguri 3rd & 4th Line (57 recently ₹1,630 crore.
Km)
6. Siliguri-New Jalpaiguri Project has been sanctioned
Doubling (7 Km) recently ₹326 crore.
7. Aluabari-Kumedpur 3rd & 4th Detailed Project Report (DPR) has
Line (129 Km) been prepared.
8. Malda Town-Kumedpur 3rd DPR has been prepared.
& 4th Line (62 Km)
9. Goldenganj-Katihar 3rd & DPR has been prepared.
4th Line (300 Km)
10. Arariya-Thakurganj Final Location Survey (FLS) has
Doubling (111 Km) been sanctioned for preparation of
the DPR.
11. Forbesganj-Lakshmipur FLS has been sanctioned for the
New Line (18 Km) preparation of the DPR.
Projects sanctioned in Northeast Frontier Railway:
As on 01.04.2026, 27 projects (14 New Lines, 02 Gauge Conversion and 11
Doubling), of total length of 2,183 Km, costing ₹76,631 crore falling in
Page 2 of 11Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) are sanctioned. The summary is as
under:-
Category No. of Total Length Exp upto
projects Length Commissioned March 2026
(in km) (in Km) (₹ in crore.)
New Line 14 781 207 36,747
Gauge
2 734 655 2,066
Conversion
Doubling/
11 669 165 4,566
Multitracking
TOTAL 27 2,184 1,027 43,379
Recently completed projects:
Details of some of the recently completed projects falling in Northeast
Frontier Railway are as under:
S.No. Name of Project Cost
(₹ in Crore)
1 Araria-Galgalia (Thakurganj) New Line (111 km) 4,415
2 Bhairabi-Sairang New Line (51 km) 8,601
3 New Bongaigaon-Agthori via Rangiya Doubling 2,048
(143 km)
4 Agartala-Akhaura New Line (5 km) 865
5 Digaru-Hojai Doubling (102 km) 1,873
6 Ambari Falakata-New Maynaguri Doubling (38 km) 843
7 New Mainaguri-Gumanihat Doubling (52 km) 1,167
8 Agartala–Sabroom New Line (112 km) 3,170
9 Haldibari International border New Line (3 km) 90
Page 3 of 11S.No. Name of Project Cost
(₹ in Crore)
10 Lumding-Hojai Doubling (45 km) 410
11 Bogibeel Bridge with linked line (92 km) 5,820
12 New Coochbehar-Gumanihat Doubling (29 km) 330
13 New Coochbehar-Samuktala Road Doubling (29 445
km)
14 Katakhal-Bhairabi Gauge Conversion (84 km) 348
15 Kumarghat-Agartala Gauge Conversion (109 km) 1242
16 Lumding-Badarpur-Silchar & Badarpur-Kumarghat 6,500
Gauge Conversion (412 km)
17 New Mal Jn-Changrabandha Gauge Conversion (62 316
km)
18 Rangiya-Murkongselek Gauge Conversion (510 km) 3,019
Ongoing projects
Some of the major projects falling in Northeast Frontier Railway which
have been taken up are as under:
S.No. Name of Project Cost
(₹ in Crore)
1 Jiribam-Imphal New Line (111 km) 21,886
2 Dimapur-Kohima New Line (82 km) 6,663
3 Sivok-Rangpo New Line (44 km) 11,775
4 Balurghat-Hilli New Line (30 km) 1,181
5 Murkongselek-Pasighat New Line (27 km) 1,249
6 Banarhat (India) to Samtse (Bhutan) New Line (20 km) 577
Page 4 of 11S.No. Name of Project Cost
(₹ in Crore)
Kokrajhar (ndia) to Gelephu (Blhutan) New Line (69 3,456
7
km)
New Bongaigaon-Goalpara-Guwahati (Kamakhaya) 4,984
8
Doubling (176 km)
9 Saraighat Bridge Doubling (7 km) 1,474
10 Lumding-Furkating Doubling (140 km) 2,124
Katihar-Kumedpur and Katihar-Mukuria Doubling (65 943
11
km)
12 Aluabari Road- Thakurganj Doubling (20 Km) 327
13 Aluabari Road-New Jalpaiguri 3rd & 4th Line (57 km) 1,630
14 Furkating-New Tinsukia Doubling (194 Km) 3,634
Further, during the last three years i.e. 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and the
current financial year 2026-27, 33 surveys (21 New Line, and 12 Doubling)
of total length 2,772 Km falling in Northeast Frontier Railway have been
sanctioned.
Sanction of any railway project depends upon many parameters/factors
which include the following:
Anticipated traffic projections and Remunerativeness of the proposed
route
First and last mile connectivity provided by the project
Connection of missing links and providing additional route
Augmentation of congested/saturated lines
Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public
representatives,
Railway’s own operational requirements
Page 5 of 11 Socio-economic considerations
Overall availability of funds
Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include
the following:
Land acquisition by State Government
Forest clearance
Shifting of infringing utilities
Statutory clearances from various authorities
Geological and topographical conditions of area
Law and order situation in the area of project site
Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.
All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the projects.
Various steps taken by the Government for effective and speedy
implementation of rail projects include:
Substantial increase in allocation of funds.
Delegation of powers at field level.
Close monitoring of progress of project at various levels.
Regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities
for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and
for resolving other issues pertaining to projects.
Station Redevelopment
Ministry of Railways has identified Katihar Junction station for
redevelopment under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
Page 6 of 11At Katihar Junction station, located in Bihar, passenger amenities like high
level platforms, waiting hall, platform shelters on all platforms, urinals &
lavatories, seating arrangement, foot over bridge, lift, escalator, drinking
water facilities, circulating area with lighting arrangement etc are
available.
At Katihar Junction station, during recent years, the works of additional
platform shelters on platform no. 2 & 3, toilets for Divyangjan and raising to
high-level platform of Manihari Terminal have been completed.
Further, the work for redevelopment of Katihar Junction station has been
sanctioned under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The master plan of Katihar
Junction station redevelopment work envisages following works:
Improvement of platform surface
Provision of platform shelters
Improvement to station building
Improvement to circulating area and parking
The works of platform shelter, improvement of platform surface and
improvement of station building have been taken up at this station.
Amrit Bharat Station Scheme envisages development of stations on a
continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of
master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations of
Indian Railways. The master planning, keeping in view the necessity of
each station, includes:
Improvement of access to station and circulating areas
Integration of station with both sides of city
Improvement of station building
Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water
booths
Page 7 of 11 Provision of wider foot over bridge/subway to commensurate with
passenger traffic
Provision of lifts/escalators/ramps
Improvement of platform surface/ provision of platform shelter
Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One
Station One Product’
Parking development
Amenities for Divyangjans
Better passenger information systems
Provision of air concourse, executive lounges, Multimodal integration,
landscaping, etc.
The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment friendly solutions
etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at
the station in the long term.
So far, 1340 stations have been identified for development under Amrit
Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 98 stations including Katihar Junction
station, are located in Bihar. The names of stations identified for
development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Bihar are as following:
State No. of Name of Stations
Stations
Bihar 98 Anugraha Narayan Road, Ara, Arariya Court,
Bakhtiyarpur, Banka, Banmankhi, Bapudham
Motihari, Barahiya, Barauni, Barh, Barsoi Jn,
Begusarai, Bettiah, Bhabua Road, Bhagalpur,
Bhagwanpur, Bihar Sharif, Bihiya, Bikramganj, Buxar,
Chakia, Chausa, Chhapra, Dalsingh Sarai,
Darbhanga, Dauram Madhepura, Dehri On Sone,
Page 8 of 11State No. of Name of Stations
Stations
Dholi, Dighwara, Dumraon, Durgauti, Ekma, Fatuha,
Gaya, Ghorasahan, Guraru, Hajipur Jn, Jamalpur,
Jamui, Janakpur Road, Jaynagar, Jehanabad,
Jhanjharpur, Kahalgaon, Karhagola Road, Katihar
Jn., Khagaria Jn, Kishanganj, Kudra, Labha, Laheria
Sarai, Lakhminia, Luckeesarai, Madhubani,
Maheshkhunt, Mairwa, Mansi Jn, Mashrakh,
Mokama, Motipur, Munger, Muzaffarpur, Nabinagar
Road, Narkatiaganj, Naugachia, Nawadah, Paharpur,
Patliputra, Patna, Piro, Pirpainti, Rafiganj,
Raghunathpur, Rajendra Nagar, Rajgir, Ram Dayalu
Nagar, Raxaul, Sabaur, Sagauli, Saharsa, Sahibpur
Kamal, Sakri, Salauna, Salmari, Samastipur,
Sasaram, Shahpur Patoree, Shivanarayanpur, Simri
Bakhtiyarpur, Simultala, Sitamarhi, Siwan, Sonpur
Jn., Sultanganj, Supaul, Taregna, Thakurganj, Thawe
Completed Stations of Bihar:
Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
in Bihar have been taken up at a good pace. Details of stations completed
in Bihar are as below:
State No. of Name of stations
stations
Bihar 8 Banmankhi, Dauram Madhepura, Kahalgaon,
Pirpainti, Sabaur, Shivanarayanpur, Simultala,
Thawe
Page 9 of 11The activities for development at other stations in Bihar have also been
taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given
below:
Stations of Bihar under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme:
Gaya station: The work of new second entry arrival building has been
completed. The works of new second entry departure building, new
arrival & departure building at main entry, new platform no. 8, new
platform shelters, air concourse and improvement of circulating area
have been taken up.
Muzaffarpur station: The work of combined terminal building, 3 m
wide skywalk (North side), booking counter and office buildings have
been completed. The work of main station building of phase-I,
elevated road, arrival terminal building, departure terminal building,
multi-level car parking, 6m wide skywalk (South side), 18 m wide foot
over bridge and sewage treatment plant have been taken up.
Kishanganj station: The works of platform surfacing at platform no. 1
& 2, drinking water taps at platform no. 1 & 2, improvement of
circulating area, parking at second entry, approach road and
boundary wall have been completed. The works of platform shelter
and 12 m foot over bridge have been taken up.
Salmari station: The works of extension and raising of platform no. 1,
improvement of station building and platform shelter at platform no. 1
have been completed. The work of 3 m wide foot over bridge,
improvement of circulating area and platform shelter at platform no. 2
have been taken up.
Page 10 of 11 Barsoi Junction station: The work of 12 m wide foot over bridge,
improvement of circulating area, approach road, improvement of
platform surface and new station building have been taken up.
Thakurganj station: The works of 12 m wide foot over bridge,
improvement of platform surface at platform no. 2, platform shelters,
toilet block and raising of platform no. 1 have been completed. The
works of improvement of platform surface at platform no. 1,
installation of Coach Indication Board and Train Indication Board have
been taken up.
Further, development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of
stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works
in this regard are undertaken as per requirement, subject to inter-se
priority and availability of funds. Development / redevelopment /
upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category
of station/condition/traffic handled etc.
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