Parliament Question: MEMU/DEMU Rail Services on Sonipat-Jind Rail Section

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1638 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2026 MEMU/DEMU RAIL SERVICES ON SONIPAT-JIND RAIL SECTION †1638. SHRI SATPAL BRAHAMCHARI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware of the need for increasing track capacity, doubling, speed enhancement, modernisation of signaling and increasing the number of MEMU/DEMU rail services keeping in view of the increased passenger and goods traffic on the Sonipat-Jind rail

section and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the details of the current status, approved projects, allocated funds and expected time- frame in respect of modernisation, doubling or capacity expansion of this rail section;

(c) whether the Government has received complaints regarding disruption in traffic and severe hardships faced by local residents due to permanent waterlogging at the Sarang Road railway underpass during the rainy season every years and if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the action taken/being taken by the Government for permanent drainage, pumping arrangement and other necessary remedial works at the said underpass and the time by which the remedial work is likely to be completed? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d) : Sonipat is situated on Delhi-Ambala main route while Jind is situated on Delhi -Rohtak - Bhatinda line. Jind – Sonipat is a branch single line (90 km length) connecting these two main lines. Presently, 10 coaching trains and about 08 goods trains are operated in this section daily. The present line capacity is sufficient to cater to the present load of traffic in § Page 1 of 6this section. The doubling of any section depends on line capacity and projected traffic requirement of the section. However, considering operational requirement, following works have been sanctioned in this

section to improve the operational efficiency:

SN Name of Work Cost (Rs. in Cr.) 1 Chord line between Bishanpura Haryana – 76.87 Jind City (5.21 Km) 2 Provision of second loop line at Madlauda 6.33 station on single line section 3 Provision of second loop line at Pilu khera 6.17 station on single line section

Strengthening of track infrastructure:

Strengthening, upgradation, modernisation and improvement of track infrastructure is a continuous and ongoing process over Indian Railways.

The following measures are being taken by Indian Railways to upgrade

railway tracks: 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 and riding quality iv. Thick Web Switch Expansion Joints are being used in place of earlier Conventional/Improved SEJs.

Page 2 of 6v. 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. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates for enhancing safety at LC gates. x. Use of advanced Phased Array technology of testing of rail and welds. xi. Deployment of Integrated Track Monitoring Systems (ITMS) and Oscillation Monitoring System (OMS) for comprehensive health assessment to ascertain optimal maintenance requirements.

xii. Adoption of portable Track Measuring Trolley for continuous recording of track parameters in yards. xiii. 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.

As a result of above measures, there has been significant increase in speed potential of the tracks. The details of speed potential of railway tracks during 2014 vis-a-vis 2026 are as under:

2014 2026 Sectional Speed

(kmph) Track Km % Track Km % 130 & above 5,036 6.3 24,173 22.5 110 - 130 26,409 33.3 62,482 58.1 < 110 47,897 60.4 20,897 19.4 Total 79,342 100 1,07,552 100 Page 3 of 6The works for upgradation of speed potential of Sonipat – Jind section from 75 kmph to 110 kmph have been taken up.

Strengthening of Signal infrastructure:

Strengthening, upgradation, modernisation and improvement of Signalling infrastructure is a continuous and ongoing process over Indian Railways.

Indian Railway is continuously modernizing current infrastructure of its

signalling system as under:

1. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation points and signals in place of old mechanical signalling have been

provided at 6671 stations as on 30.06.2026, out of which Electronic Interlocking have been provided at 3954 stations.

2. Interlocking of Level Crossing Gates (LC) has been provided at 10395 Level Crossing Gates upto 30.06.2026 for enhancing safety at LC Gate.

3. Complete Track Circuiting of stations to enhance safety by verification of track occupancy by electrical means has been provided at 6671 stations up to 30.06.2026.

4. Axle counters for automatic clearance of Block Section, BPAC (Block Proving Axle Counter) are provided to ensure complete arrival of train without manual intervention before granting line clear to receive next train and to reduce human element. These systems have been

provided on 6085 Block Sections up to 30.06.2026.

5. Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) that enhances line capacity within existing track infrastructure has been provided at 7464 Route Km upto

30.06.2026.

6. After extensive and elaborate trials, Kavach Version 4.0 has been successfully commissioned on 2,569 Route Kilometres as on

20.07.2026, covering the high density Delhi- Mumbai and Delhi- Howrah routes. Kavach work has been sanctioned in Sonipat - Jind section.

Page 4 of 6ROBs/RUBs:

No. of ROBs/ RUBs constructed on Indian Railways during the period 2004- 14 vis a vis 2014-26 (Upto May’26) is as under:

Period ROBs/ RUBs constructed 2004-14 4,148 Nos.

2014-26 (Upto May’26) 14,451 Nos. (553 Nos. in the State of Haryana) As on 01.06.2026, 4,993 Nos. ROBs RUB works are sanctioned at a cost of approx. ₹1,17,492 Cr on Indian Railways including 166 Nos. ROB/ RUB works at a cost of approx. ₹ 2899 Cr in the state of Haryana which are at various stages of planning and execution.

The Sarang underpass at Km 45.450 near Sonipat station on Delhi-Ambala

section was constructed on deposit-term basis and its maintenance and drainage arrangements are undertaken by PWD department.

Railways have taken several remedial measures to mitigate the problem of water logging, as under: i. Adequate drainage arrangement has been made as integral part of planning of new RUB/underpasses. ii. In existing RUBs/underpasses remedial measures like water flow diversion to nearby bridge and nallahs/drains, provision of cover shed on approach roads, provision of hump at entry to RUB, provision of cross drains, sealing of joints etc. have been made as per feasibility, suitability and site requirements.

iii. In addition, pumping arrangement has also been made for identified RUBs, to drain out water expeditiously in case of emergency and Page 5 of 6provision to stop road traffic in exceptional/unusual rainfall situation for safety of road users.

Train Services:

Indian Railways (IR) constantly endeavours to improve connectivity and facilitate travelling passengers and to this end IR has introduced 74009/74010 Sonipat-Jind Namo Green Rail (Hydrogen train) w.e.f

19.07.2026.

At present, Sonipat-Jind sector is served by 05 pairs of train services as

listed below:

SN Train no. and name 1 15733/15734 Balurghat-Bathinda Express 2 74009/74010 Sonipat-Jind Namo Green Rail 3 74029/74030 Sonipat-Jind DEMU 4 74019/74020 Sonipat-Jind DEMU 5 74039/74040 Sonipat-Jind DEMU Besides, introduction of new train services, which is an on-going process, depends on various factors which include-  Capacity of that section  Availability of path  Availability of required rolling stock  Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock  Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets.

 Occupancy and the traffic requirement of the section . ***** Page 6 of 6