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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 684
TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026
MODERNISATION OF RAILWAY BRIDGES IN GUJARAT
†684. SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has launched any new scheme for the
modernisation of railway bridges in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the amount of funds allocated for the said scheme in the Gujarat?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (c) Safety of Bridges across the country is accorded high priority by
Indian Railways (IR). There is an established system of inspection of
railway bridges on Indian Railways. All the railway bridges are inspected
twice a year, one before the onset of monsoon and one detailed inspection
after the monsoon. Annual Inspection of all the bridges is conducted to
ascertain the physical condition of the bridge and repairs/
rehabilitation/regirdering/rebuilding measures are taken up wherever
required. In addition, certain railway bridges are also inspected more
frequently depending upon their condition. Comprehensive Technical
inspection of important & major bridges is done in a way that 20% of such
bridges are inspected annually.
Repair/strengthening/rehabilitation/rebuilding of railway bridges is a
continuous process and is undertaken whenever so warranted by their
physical condition as ascertained during these inspections. During 2014-
§ Page 1 of 22026 (upto June’ 2026), 18835 nos of railway bridges were
repaired/rehabilitated/strengthened/rebuild in Indian Railway.
IR has developed the Bridge Management System (BMS) which is a
comprehensive digital repository and decision-support tool developed for
effective management of the entire bridge inventory of Indian Railways. It
maintains extensive data related to maintenance history, inspection
records etc. of each bridge.
For inspection and maintenance, IR is also using new technology like
automatic water level monitoring integrated with BMS, Scour monitoring
system, under water inspection through the use of Remote Operated
Vehicle and 3D river bed scanning.
Railway projects are sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise and not
State-wise as Railway projects may span across State boundaries. Gujarat
state is covered under North Western Railway & Western Railway. During
2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27(up to June’26) about Rs. 7,216.11 crores
have been allocated on repair/rehabilitation/strengthening/ rebuilding in
Indian Railway which includes Rs. 896.21 crores for railway bridges in
North Western Railway & Western Railway.
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