Parliament Question: Mechanism to Monitor Railway Issues

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 148 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025 MECHANISM TO MONITOR RAILWAY ISSUES *148. SHRI K E PRAKASH: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that the Government has received requests from the elected Public Representative from Erode Lok Sabha Constituency on various issues relating to railway services being faced by the people there; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken thereon; (c) the reasons for delays in the current system for addressing such constituency-specific requests; and (d) whether the Government proposes to establish any separate body/board/mechanism to systematically monitor/follow up on constituency-level railway issues and requests made by the elected representatives and if so, the details thereof ? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ******STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 148 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025 (a) to (d): Proposals/requests/suggestions/representations, both formal and informal for provision of various facilities/amenities/services for passengers across the country are received on the basis of demands raised by State Governments, Members of Parliament, elected representatives, Railways’ own requirements, organizations/rail users etc. at various levels including Railway Board, Zonal Railways, Division Office etc. As receipt of such proposals/complaints/suggestions is a continuous and dynamic process, centralized compendium of such requests is not maintained. However, these are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to time. As far as Erode constituency is concerned, various representations for provision of Road Over Bridge (ROB)/Road Under Bridge (RUBs), Railway Waterway Bridge, stoppage of trains, etc. have been received. ROBs/RUBs Sanctioning and execution of works of Road Over Bridges/Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) in lieu of Level Crossings (LCs) is a continuous and ongoing process on Indian Railways. Such works are prioritized and taken up on the basis of its impact on safety and mobility in train operations and impact on road users. Number of ROBs/RUBs constructed on Indian Railways during the period 2004-14 vis a vis 2014-25 (June’25) is as under: Period ROBs/RUBs constructed 2004-14 4,148 2014-25 13,426 (including 747 in the State of Tamil Nadu) (June’25)As on 01.04.2025, 4,402 ROBs/RUBs are sanctioned at the cost of Rs. 1,00,860 crore on Indian Railways including 235 (ROBs)/(RUBs) at the cost of Rs. 4,669 crore in the State of Tamil Nadu, which are at various stages of planning and execution. Presently, 13 ROBs/RUBs are sanctioned in Erode Constituency which includes 03 Nos. ROBs sanctioned against demanded LC locations. Introduction/stoppage of trains At present, Erode, Kodumudi, Pasur and Ingur, which are major stations located in Erode Lok Sabha Constituency, are being served by 174 train services (including 4 Vande Bharat train services), 14, 8 and 6 train services respectively. Besides, provision of stoppage of trains and rationalisation of timings of train services is an on-going process on Indian Railways, subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, etc. Train introduced/extended, serving Erode Item Train No. and Name With effect from Introduction 18189/90 Tata Nagar – Ernakulam 28.01.2021 Express Introduction 20643/44 Coimbatore – MGR Chennai 08.04.2023 Central Vande Bharat Express Introduction 20641/42 Coimbatore – Bangalore Cantt. 30.12.2023 Vande Bharat Express Introduction 17421/22 Tirupati – Kollam Express 15.03.2024 Extension 16845/46 Erode – Tirunelveli Express 24.01.2024 upto Sengottai Stoppages of train services provided at Kodumudi Item Train No. and Name With effect from Stoppage 16188 Ernakulam – Karaikkal Express 18.07.2023 Stoppage 16235 Tuticorin – Mysuru Express 19.07.2023Provision of Infrastructure Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for 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 amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, platform surfacing and cover over platform, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1,337 stations covering 77 stations from the state of Tamil Nadu including Erode Junction station have been identified for development under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works of 09 stations (Chidambaram, Kulitturai, Mannargudi, Polur, Samalpatti, Srirangam, St.Thomas Mount, Tiruvannamalai, Vriddhachalam Jn) in the state of Tamil Nadu have been completed under this scheme.At Erode Junction station, work of improvement of circulating area, improvement of parking area and construction of new commercial building has been completed. Work of improvement of platforms, new platform shelter, 12 m Foot Over Bridge, lift and escalators have been taken up. Development/Upgradation 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. The priority for development/upgradation of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works. Implementation of different projects in Southern Railway/Erode Railway projects in Tamil Nadu are covered by Southern Railway (SR), South Central Railway (SCR) and South Western Railway (SWR) zone of Indian Railways. Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website. As on 01.04.2025, 15 projects (9 New Line, 03 Gauge Conversion and 03 Doubling) of total length 1,700 Km, costing ₹22,808 Crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu, are sanctioned, out of which 665 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹7,591 Crore has been incurred upto March’ 2025. The summary is as under:- Plan Head No. of Total Length Expenditure projects Length Commissioned upto March 2025 (in Km) (in Km) (₹in Cr.) New Line 9 812 24 1,337 Gauge Conversion 3 748 604 3,471 Doubling 3 140 37 2,783 /Multitracking Total 15 1700 665 7,591Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu is as under: Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹879 crore/year 2025-26 ₹ 6,626 crore (more than 7.5 times) To further improve connectivity of Erode, following surveys have been sanctioned for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR): - (i) Jolarpettai – Erode – Coimbatore 3rd and 4th line (282 Km) (ii) Erode – Karur Doubling (67 Km) After firming up of Detailed Project Report (DPR), sanctioning of project requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments and necessary approvals viz. appraisal of NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance etc. As sanctioning of projects is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed. Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in Tamil Nadu is as under: Total Land required for Projects in Tamil Nadu 4315 Ha Land Acquired 1038 Ha ( 24%) Balance Land to be acquired 3277 Ha ( 76%) Support of the Government of Tamil Nadu is needed to expedite the land acquisition. Details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:-S. Name of the project Total Land Balance No. land acquired Land to be required (in Ha) acquired (in Ha) (in Ha) 1. Tindivanam–Tiruvannamalai new 273 33 240 line (71 km) 2. Attiputtu – Puttur New Line (88 189 0 189 km) 3. Morappur – Dharmapuri (36 km) 93 42 51 4. Mannargudi-Pattukkottai (41 196 0 196 km) 5. Thanjavur-Pattukottai (52 km) 152 0 152 Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Tamil Nadu. Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project/s site, number of working months in a year for particular project site etc. All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s. *****