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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4110
TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026
PANDHARPUR–SHEGAON NEW RAILWAY LINE
†4110. SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAVAN RAJENIMBALKAR:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) whether any proposal is under consideration for conducting the survey
and preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed new
railway line connecting Pandharpur, Kurduwadi, Paranda, Bhoom,
Manjarsumba, Georai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Shegaon
Devasthan in view of religious/tourism and regional economic
development and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the details of the steps taken by the Government to accord early
approval for the survey and the Detailed Project Report of the said
project and to commence the necessary survey work; and
(c) the details of the likely time line for completion of the feasibility study,
survey and preparation of the Detailed Project Report for the said
railway line?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (c): Pandharpur, Kurduwadi, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Shegaon
are already existing stations on Indian Railway Network and are connected
via Daund, Ahilyanagar, Manmad and Jalgaon.
Paranda is about 21 Km away from Kurduwadi Railway station, Bhoom is
about 37 Km away from Barsi Town Railway station. Manjarsumbha and
Gevrai are about 20 Km and 31 Km away respectively from Beed Railway
station, which serve as the transportation hubs for the nearby regions.
§ Page 1 of 13To improve connectivity in the region, following works have also been
sanctioned/ completed:-
S.No. Project Cost Status
(₹ in crore)
1. Daund - Manmad 3,426 The project has been
Doubling (236 Km) commissioned recently.
2. Ahilyanagar - Beed 5,800 Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) -
- Parli Vaijnath Beed - Badwani Section (201
(261 Km) Km) has been commissioned.
Details of the works in the
balance section are as under:-
366 Ha Land out of 371 Ha has
been acquired.
19 out of 20 Major Bridges have
been completed.
11 out of 23 Road Over Bridge
(ROBs) have been completed.
To further improve connectivity in the region, following Final Location
Surveys (FLS) have also been sanctioned:-
S.No. Project Status
1. Jalna - Khamgaon New Line Final Location Survey (FLS)
(162 Km) completed and Detailed Project
Report (DPR) has been prepared.
2. Pune - Ahilyanagar New Line FLS completed and DPR has been
(134 Km) prepared.
Page 2 of 133. Dharashiv - Beed - Chhatrapati FLS has been sanctioned for the
Sambhajinagar New Line (240 preparation of DPR. The proposed
Km) alignment is passing through
Gevrai.
4. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar - FLS has been sanctioned for the
Ahilyanagar New Line (110 Km) preparation of DPR.
After preparation 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 depend upon appraisals and approvals by
various stakeholders.
Maharashtra
Railway Budget:
Budget allocation in recent years has increased significantly. Budget
allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in
the State of Maharashtra, is as under:
Period Outlay
2009-14 ₹1,171 crore/year
2026-27 ₹23,926 crore (More than 20 times)
Track Construction:
The details of constructing new track falling fully/partly in the State of
Maharashtra during 2009-14 and 2014-26 is as under:
Page 3 of 13Period New track
Average commissioning of new tracks
Commissioned
2009-14 292 Km 58.4 Km/year
2014-26 2,585 Km 215.4 Km/year (Nearly 4 times)
Projects sanctioned:
As on 01.04.2026, 52 projects (13 New Lines, 02 Gauge Conversion and 37
Doubling), of a total length of 5,956 km, costing ₹1,42,635 crore, falling
fully/partly in Maharashtra, are sanctioned. The summary is as under:-
Category No. of Total Length Exp.
sanctioned Length Commissioned upto Mar'26
Projects (in Km) Upto Mar'26 (₹ in Cr.)
(in Km)
New Line 13 1,399 266 13,065
Gauge Conversion 02 609 334 5,013
Doubling/ 37 3,948 998 16,704
Multitracking
Total 52 5,956 1,598 34,782
Recently completed projects:
Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in
Maharashtra, are as under:
S.No. Project Cost
(₹ in crore)
1 Pune - Miraj - Londa Doubling (467 Km) 6,463
2 Hotgi - Kudgi - Gadag Doubling (284 Km) 2,459
Page 4 of 133 Manmad - Jalgaon 3rd Line (160 Km) 1,677
4 Jabalpur - Gondia Gauge Conversion (300 Km) 2,005
5 Chhindwara - Nagpur Gauge Conversion (150 Km) 1,512
6 Panvel - Pen Doubling (35 Km) 263
7 Pen - Roha Doubling (40 Km) 330
8 Udhna - Jalgaon Doubling (307 Km) 2,448
9 Mudkhed - Parbhani Doubling (81 Km) 673
10 Bhusawal - Jalgaon 3rd Line (24 Km) 325
11 Jalgaon - Bhusawal 4th Line (24 Km) 261
12 Daund - Gulbarga Doubling (225 Km) 3,182
13 Daund - Manmad Doubling (236 Km) 3,426
Ongoing Projects:
To further improve the Railway Infrastructure in the state of Maharashtra,
following works have been taken up:-
S.No. Name of the project Cost
(₹ In crore)
1 Ahilyanagar - Parli Vaijnath New Line (261 Km) 5,800
2 Baramati - Lonand New Line (64 Km) 1,844
3 Wardha - Nanded New Line (284 Km) 5,248
4 Indore - Manmad New Line (360 Km) 18,529
5 Wadsa - Gadchiroli New Line (52 Km) 1,886
6 Jalna - Jalgaon New Line (174 Km) 5,804
7 Wardha - Nagpur 3rd Line (76 Km) 917
8 Wardha - Ballarshah 3rd Line (132 Km) 1,755
9 Itarsi - Nagpur 3rd Line (280 Km) 2,607
10 Rajnandgaon - Nagpur 3rd Line (228 Km) 3,545
Page 5 of 1311 Wardha - Nagpur 4th Line (79 Km) 1,215
12 Jalgaon - Manmad 4th Line (160 Km) 2,574
13 Bhusawal - Khandwa 3rd & 4th Line (131 Km) 3,285
14 Solapur – Tuljapur - Osmanabad New Line (84 Km) 3,296
15 Panvel - Chowk Double Line (17 Km) 491
16 Wardha - Balharshah 4th Line (135 Km) 2,226
17 Itarsi - Nagpur 4th Line (297 Km) 5,010
18 Wardha - Bhusawal 3rd & 4th Line (314 Km) 9,197
19 Gondia - Dongargarh 4th Line (84 Km) 2,223
20 Gondia - Balharshah Doubling (240 Km) 4,819
21 Kalyan - Kasara 3rd Line (68 Km) 1,433
22 Naigaon - Juichendra Double Chord Line (5 Km) 176
23 Nilje - Kopar Double Chord Line (5 Km) 338
24 Badlapur - Karjat 3rd & 4th Line (32 Km) 1,324
25 Asangaon - Kasara 4th Line (35 Km) 794
26 Kasara - Manmad 3rd & 4th Line (131 Km) 10,154
27 Gondia - Jabalpur Doubling (231 Km) 5,236
28 Chalisgaon Rail Over Rail Flyover (11 Km) 264
29 Chord line between Chikhli and Somtane (4 Km) 172
30 Puntamba - Sainagar Shirdi Doubling (17 Km) 227
Further, during the last three years i.e. 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and the
current financial year 2026-27, 60 surveys (21 New Line and 39 Doubling) of
total length 6,872 Km falling fully/ partly in the State of Maharashtra, have
been sanctioned.
Sanction of any railway project depends upon many parameters/factors
which include the following:
Page 6 of 13 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
Socio-economic considerations
Overall availability of funds
Railway Infrastructure projects enable socio-economic development of the
region including:
Better integration of the region with other parts of the country
Faster movement of goods and services
Improving logistics efficiency
Enhance line capacity
Increase in direct and indirect employment opportunities for the
people of the region
Reduces operational bottlenecks
Development of tourism industry and increase in industrial activities
in the region.
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
Page 7 of 13 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 project/s.
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.
Bullet Train project:
Presently, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508
km) is under execution. The Project is passing through the States of
Gujarat, Maharashtra and Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli with 12
stations planned at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Billimora, Surat,
Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
Entire land (1389.5 Ha.) for the MAHSR project has been acquired. All
Statutory Clearances have been obtained. All 1651 utilities have been
shifted. The delay in land acquisition in the State of Maharashtra has
impacted the project till 2021. The land acquisition picked up in 2022 in
Maharashtra.
The progress of various major items so far is as under:
Page 8 of 13Item Progress
Piers 452 kms.
Girder 356 kms.
Track Bed 209 kms.
OHE Masts 190 kms.
The progress of stations is given below:-
S. No. Station Status
Foundation works completed, Platform slab & roof
1 Sabarmati structural works and finishing works are in
progress
2 Ahmedabad Structural works completed and finishing works
3 Anand/Nadiad have been taken up.
Foundation work completed, structural works and
4 Vadodara
finishing works have been taken up.
5 Bharuch
6 Surat Structural works completed and finishing works
7 Bilimora have been taken up.
8 Vapi
9 Boisar Foundation works have been taken up and in an
10 Virar advanced stage. Structural works have been taken
11 Thane up.
This is an underground station. Foundation works
12 BKC (Mumbai) almost completed and Base Slab has been taken
up.
Page 9 of 13The progress on the River Bridges is as under:-
S. No. River Name Status
Sabarmati River Sub-Structure work completed, Superstructure
1
(480m) work has been taken up.
Meshwa River
2
(120m)
Vatrak River
3 Bridge construction completed.
(280m)
Mohar (Shedhi)
4
River (160m)
11 out of 12 wells completed; 5 spans
5 Mahi River (720m)
launched
Vishwamitri River
6
(80m)
Bridge construction completed.
Dhadhar River
7
(120m)
Narmada River 21 out of 25 wells completed; 4 spans
8
(1366m) launched
9 Kim River (120m) Bridge construction completed.
Foundation work has been taken up, 10 out of
10 Tapi River (720m)
12 wells completed
Mindhola River
11
(240m)
Purna River
12
(360m)
Bridge construction completed.
Ambika River
13
(200m)
Venganiya River
14
(200m)
Page 10 of 13Kaveri River
15
(120m)
Kharera River
16
(120m)
Auranga River
17
(320m)
18 Par River (320m)
Kolak River
19
(160m)
Daman Ganga
20
River (360m)
Darotha River
21
(80m)
Jagani River
22 Foundation works have been completed
(360m)
Vaitarna
23 12 Pile Cap and 11 Pier (out of 58) completed.
River (2320m)
Ulhas River Temporary Access Bridge (TAB) completed to
24
Branch (120m) start the foundation work.
Desai Khadi River Geo-technical Investigation (GTI) has been
25
Bridge (400m) completed and Design work has been taken up.
The work of the under-sea tunnel (approximately 21 km) has commenced,
out of which 4.8 km of tunnel between Ghansoli and Shilphata in
Maharashtra has been completed.
On the Surat–Vapi section (97 km) entire civil works including river bridge
construction, have been completed and 87% of the track bed has been
laid.
Page 11 of 13However, Bullet train project is a very complex and technology intensive
project. Exact timelines for the completion of the entire project can be
reasonably ascertained after the completion of all associated works of
Civil Structures, Track, Electrical, Signaling & Telecommunication and
supply of Trainsets.
Further, to strengthen national transport infrastructure, provide a fillip to
regional connectivity, economic growth, tourism, investment and
employment generation, and encourage modal shift from road and air
transport to rail, the Government has announced the development of the
following seven new High-Speed Rail (HSR) corridors in the Union Budget
2026-27:-
(i) Mumbai–Pune
(ii) Pune–Hyderabad
(iii) Hyderabad–Bengaluru
(iv) Hyderabad–Chennai
(v) Chennai–Bengaluru
(vi) Delhi–Varanasi
(vii) Varanasi–Siliguri
Being highly capital intensive, the decision to sanction any HSR
Corridor/Project depends on many factors such as outcome of DPR, techno-
economic feasibility studies and availability of resources such as financing
options etc.
Dedicated freight corridor:
Ministry of Railways has taken construction of two Dedicated Freight
Corridors (DFC) viz. Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) from
Page 12 of 13Ludhiana to Sonnagar (1337 Km) and the Western Dedicated Freight
Corridor (WDFC) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri
(1506 Km).
The work on EDFC & WDFC has been completed and commissioned.On an
average more than 443 trains are operated per day on DFCs. The fully
commissioned sections of the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight
Corridors (EDFC & WDFC) have demonstrated robust operational
performance. Freight volumes have steadily increased, with higher average
speeds, faster turnarounds, and enhanced reliability. The corridors are
witnessing consistent growth in container, coal, and bulk cargo movement,
contributing significantly to capacity augmentation in freight
transportation.
DFC has contributed to creating additional paths on the conventional
network by diverting freight traffic to EDFC and WDFC. As a result,
Railways have been able to run additional goods and coaching services
over its network. The DFCs have enabled faster transit times, higher
throughput, and double-stack container operations (especially on the
Western DFC). These improvements have contributed to lowering overall
logistics costs, improving supply chain efficiency, and enhancing
competitiveness of Indian industries.
A new Dedicated Freight Corridor connecting Dankuni in East to Surat in
West, has been announced in the Union Budget 2026. The work of
preparation/ updation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this corridor has
been taken up.
*****
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