**Summary:**
The Ministry of Railways is considering a proposed new railway line between Jhalawar and Ujjain (190 km). A final location survey has been sanctioned to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Ujjain-Agar-Jhalawar line. The project's sanctioning requires consultation with stakeholders, including State Governments, and approvals from NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance. While the survey work is underway, exact timelines for commencement and completion cannot be fixed at this stage. The Minister of Railways states that railway projects generally provide regional connectivity, promote socio-economic development, generate employment, and contribute to environmental sustainability. Project sanctioning depends on factors such as remunerativeness, traffic projections, connectivity, congestion relief, demands from stakeholders, operational requirements, socio-economic considerations, the status of existing projects, and overall funding availability. The answer was provided by the Minister of Railways, Information Broadcasting and Electronics Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 626 on July 23, 2025, raised by Shri Dushyant Singh.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Railways: A ministry of the Government of India responsible for the country's railway network.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India.
SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH: Member of Parliament who raised the question about the Jhalawar-Ujjain railway line.
Ashwini Vaishnaw: Minister of Railways, Information Broadcasting and Electronics Information Technology.
Ujjain-Agar-Jhalawar New Line: Proposed railway line of 190 Km in length.
Detailed Project Report DPR: A report containing details of the proposed Ujjain-Agar-Jhalawar railway line project, for which a survey has been sanctioned.
NITI Aayog: National Institution for Transforming India, a policy think tank of the Government of India.
Ministry of Finance: A ministry of the Government of India responsible for financial matters.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 626
TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025
PROPOSED JHALAWAR-UJJAIN RAILWAY LINE
626. SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the newly proposed Jhalawar- Ujjain railway line and
the expected benefits for the region in terms of connectivity and
economic development therefrom;
(b) the details of the timeline for the commencement and completion
of the Jhalawar-Ujjain railway line project; and
(c) the details of the reasons for delays in its execution?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (c): Final Location Survey of Ujjain-Agar-Jhalawar New Line(190
Km) has been sanctioned for preparation of Detailed Project Report
(DPR). The survey work has been taken up.
The sanctioning of the project requires consultation with various stake-
holders including State Governments and necessary approvals viz.
…2/--:2:-
appraisal of NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance etc. As sanctioning of
project is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be
fixed.
The railway projects provide regional connectivity, comfortable journey
and promote socio-economic development of the region. It also
provides employment generation and contributes to environmental
sustainability by usage of cleaner mode of energy for train operations.
Railway projects are sanctioned on the basis of remunerativeness,
traffic projections, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate
routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, demands raised by
State Governments, Central Ministries, Members of Parliament, other
public representatives, Railway’s own operational requirement, socio-
economic considerations etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing
projects and overall availability of funds.
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