Parliament Question: New rail lines, station redevelopment and corridor projects as growth engine of economy

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 928 ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026 NEW RAIL LINES, STATION REDEVELOPMENT AND CORRIDOR PROJECTS AS GROWTH ENGINE OF ECONOMY 928 SHRI SANJAY SETH: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether new rail lines, station redevelopment and corridor projects have improved connectivity and passenger experience, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (b) whether dedicated freight corridors have enhanced logistics efficiency and reduced transportation costs, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (c) the manner in which multimodal integration is being promoted and the future vision for Railways as a growth engine of the economy; and (d) whether freight diversification beyond traditional commodities has begun yielding results, the future vision for Railways as a growth engine of the economy? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d): Capacity enhancement of railway network has been taken up by Indian Railways in a big way during last 11 years. The details of commissioning/laying of new track across Indian Railways is given below:- New track Period Average commissioning of new tracks Commissioned 2009-14 7,599 Km 4.2 Km/day 2014-25 34,428 Km 8.6 Km/day (more than 2 times) As on 01.04.2025, across Indian Railways, 431 Railway infrastructure projects (154 New Line, 33 Gauge Conversion and 244 Doubling) of total length 35,966 Km, costing approx. 6.75 lakh crore are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- ..P/2-:2:- Length Total Length Total Exp upto Commissioned till Category No of Projects NL/GC/DL Mar’25 Mar’25 (km) ( in Cr) (Km) New Lines 154 16,142 3,036 1,45,318 Gauge 33 4,180 2,997 22,753 Conversion Doubling / 244 15,644 6,736 1,22,858 Multitracking Total 431 35,966 12,769 2,90,929 Zone-wise/year-wise details of all Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website. During the last 05 years i.e. FY 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and in current FY 2025-26, 290 projects (New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling) of total length 13,176 Km costing approx. Rs.2,60,756 Crore have been sanctioned across Indian Railways. Furthermore, during this period, 1,048 surveys (325 New Line, 15 Gauge Conversion & 708 Doubling) of total length 71,611 Km have been sanctioned. Railway Infrastructure projects enable socio-economic development of the region including:  Better connectivity of the region with other parts of the country  Faster movement of goods and services  Improving logistics efficiency and reduction in transportation cost.  Enhance line capacity  Increase in direct and indirect employment opportunities for the people of the region  Reduced operational bottlenecks  Development of tourism industry and increase in industrial activities in the region. Ministry of Railways has completed construction of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) from Ludhiana to Sonnagar (1,337 Km) and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) from Dadri to Vaitarana (1,404 Km) which has been commissioned. The construction of Vaitarna-JNPT (102 km) section of WDFC is in advance stage. ..P/3-:3:- Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project has positive impact on transportation and logistics sector as it enabled enhanced movement of Double Stack Container (DSC) trains, higher axle load trains, faster access of northern hinterland by Western Ports and development of new terminals/linkages with industries along the DFC. The Eastern DFC mostly caters to mineral traffic from Eastern India. These developments enabled reduction in logistic cost. Indian Railways is promoting multimodal integration through the development of Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCTs), rail connectivity to Multi-Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs), Inland Container Depots (ICDs), ports, industrial clusters and other key logistics nodes, under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. Major railway stations are being developed as integrated multimodal hubs with rail, metro, bus and other transport systems for efficient passenger movement. The future vision of Indian Railways is to increase its modal share in freight and passenger transportation, modernize infrastructure through capacity augmentation and technology adoption, improve operational efficiency and environmental sustainability, and function as a key growth engine of the national economy. Sanction of any railway project depend 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 operational requirements  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. ..P/4-:4:- All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s. Station Redevelopment Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach. The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning 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  Provision of wider foot over bridge/air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic  Provision of lift/escalators/ramp  Improvement /Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms  Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’  Parking areas, Multimodal integration  Amenities for Divyangjans  Better passenger information systems  Provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. The scheme also envisages 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 have been identified for development under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works have been completed at 172 stations. Names of stations completed so far are as following: ..P/5-:5:- Alnavar, Amb Andaura, Ambikapur, Amgaon, Anandpur Sahib, Anara, Ayodhya Dham, Badami, Bagalkot, Baijnath Paprola, Balrampur, Bantawala, Barabhum, Baramati, Bareilly City, Baripada, Barmer, Barpali, Begumpet, Beohari, Bhanupratappur, Bhilai, Bhind, Bijnor, Bimalgarh, Bommidi, Bundi, Chanda Fort, Chalakudi, Changanassery, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinchpokli, Chinna Salem, Chirayinkeezh, Cuttack, Dakor, Derol, Deshnoke, Devlali, Dharwad, Dhule, Dongargarh, Fatehabad, Fatehpur, Fatehpur Shekhawati, Gadag, Gangapur City, Godda, Godhra Jn., Gogameri, Gokak Road, Gola Gokarnath, Gomti Nagar, Govardhan, Govind Garh, Govindpuri, Govindpur Road, Hafizpeta, Haibargaon, Haldia, Hapa, Harpalpur, Hathras City, Hodal, Idgah Agra Jn., Izzatnagar, Jaisalmer, Jam Jodhpur, Jam Wanthali, Joychandi Pahar, Junnor Deo, Kakinada Town, Kalyani Ghoshpara, Kamakhyaguri, Kanalus Jn., Karaikkudi Jn., Karamsad, Karimnagar, Katni South, Kedgaon, Khairthal, Khambhaliya, Khalilabad, Koppal, Kosamba Jn., Kulitturai, Kuttipuram, Lasalgaon, Limbdi, Lohardaga, Lonand Jn., Mahe, Mahuva, Mailani, Mandal Garh, Mandawar Mahwa Road, Madhupur, Manaparai, Mandi Dabwali, Mangalagiri, Mannargudi, Matunga, M.C.S. Chhatarpur, Mithapur, Morappur, Morbi, Muktsar, Munirabad, Muri Jn., Murtizapur Jn., Nainpur Jn., Nandura, Narmadapuram, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Junction, Okha, Orchha, Palitana, Panagarh, Panki Dham, Parel, Parlakhemundi, Pirpainti, Piska, Pokhrayan, Pollachi Jn., Polur, Porbandar, Rajgarh, Rajmahal, Rajula Jn., Ramghat Halt, Rayanpadu, Saharanpur Jn., Sahibzada Ajit Singh Mohali, Sahebgunj, Samakhiyali, Samalpatti, Sanchi, Sankarpur, Savda, Seoni, Shahad, Shajapur, Sholavandan, Shoranur Jn., Shridham, Siddharth Nagar, Sihor Jn., Siuri, Sri Bala Brahmeswara Jogulamba, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St.Thomas Mount, Sullurpeta, Suraimanpur, Swaminarayan Chappia, Talcher, Tamluk, Thawe, Thiruvarur Jn., Tiruvannamalai, Tuni, Ujhani, Urkura, Utran, Vadakara, Vadala Road, Vidisha, Vriddhachalam Jn., Wadakancheri, Warangal. Good progress has been achieved at the stations where works have been taken up and progress of some of these stations is given below:  Tirupati Station: The structural works of the new second entry (south side) station building and air concourse have been completed. The structural works of the new main entry (north side) station building, finishing works at south side station building, air concourse, platform shelters, lift, escalators have been taken up. ..P/6-:6:-  Nellore Station: The structural works of station buildings on both sides and air concourse have been completed. The works of subway extension, construction of sewage treatment plants, overhead water tank and finishing works of station buildings and air concourse have been taken up.  Puri Station: The structural work of the new station building has been completed. The works of development of the circulating area and finishing works of the new station building have been taken up.  Kota Junction Station: The structural works of the front departure hall, front arrival hall, rear side station building have been completed. The works of finishing of new station building, construction of air concourse, through roof work, platform refurbishment and circulating area development have been taken up.  Bhubaneshwar Station: The structural work of the West side and East side Station building, structural work of air concourse, construction of sewage treatment plant and underground sump tank have been completed. The works of elevated driveway, extension of foot over bridge, platform refurbishment, lifts, escalators and finishing works 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. The priority for development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works. Further, development / upgradation / modernization of stations including Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’. The details of allocation and expenditure under Plan Head-53 are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not work-wise or station- wise or state-wise. The fund allocation of ₹12,120 crore has been made for the financial year 2025- 26 under Plan Head-53 and expenditure (up to December, 2025) of ₹9,660 crore has been incurred so far. ..P/7-:7:- Development / Upgradation of railway stations is complex in nature involving safety of passengers & trains and requires various statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree cutting, airport clearance etc. The progress also gets affected due to brownfield related challenges such as shifting of utilities (involving water/sewage lines, optical fibre cables, gas pipe lines, power/signal cables, etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed restrictions due to works carried out in close proximity of tracks and high voltage power lines, etc. and these factors affect the completion time. *****