See Full Document Text
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2998
TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026
RAIL CONNECTIVITY TO TRIBAL/REMOTE DISTRICT OF MAHARASHTRA
2998. SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:
SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) whether it is a fact that several tribal and remote districts of
Maharashtra continue to suffer from inadequate railway connectivity;
(b) if so, the names of such unserved and underserved tribal districts;
(c) whether any time-bound action plan has been formulated to improve rail
connectivity in these districts through new lines, doubling,
electrification or gauge conversion and if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether proposals for railway expansion or upgradation in tribal and
backward regions have been received from the Government of
Maharashtra and if so, the details including the present status of
approval and execution of such proposals;
(e) the district-wise status of ongoing railway projects in tribal areas of
Maharashtra including physical/financial progress and reasons for
delays;
(f) whether specific completion deadlines have been fixed for projects in
tribal districts and if so, the details thereof; and
..P/2
§(g) the details of the steps taken to address persistent land acquisition
delays, funding constraints and cost overruns?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (g): Budget allocation during the last five 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
2025-26 ₹23,778 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 2014-25 is as under:
Period New track
Average commissioning of new tracks
Commissioned
2009-14 292 Km 58.4 Km/year
2014-25 2,292 Km 208.4 Km/year (More than 3 times)
Projects sanctioned:
As on 01.04.2025, 38 projects (11 New Lines, 02 Gauge Conversion and 25
Doubling), of a total length of 5,098 km, costing ₹89,780 crore, falling
fully/partly in Maharashtra, including remote and tribal areas, are
sanctioned. The summary is as under:-Category No. of Total Length Exp.
sanctioned Length Commissioned upto Mar'25
Projects (in Km) Upto Mar'25 (₹ in Cr.)
(Km)
New Line 11 1,355 234 10,504
Gauge Conversion 02 609 334 4,286
Doubling/ 25 3,134 1,792 24,617
Multitracking
Total 38 5,098 2,360 39,407
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) 4,670
2 Jabalpur-Gondia Gauge Conversion (300 Km) 2,005
3 Chhindwara-Nagpur Gauge Conversion (150 1,512
Km)
4 Panvel-Pen Doubling (35 Km) 263
5 Pen-Roha Doubling (40 Km) 330
6 Udhna-Jalgaon Doubling (307 Km) 2,448
7 Mudkhed-Parbhani Doubling (81 Km) 673
8 Bhusawal-Jalgaon 3rd Line (24 Km) 325
9 Jalgaon-Bhusawal 4th Line (24 Km) 261
10 Daund-Gulbarga Doubling (225 Km) 3,182Ongoing 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 (Ahmednagar)-Beed-Parli Vaijnath 4,957
New Line (261 Km)
2 Baramati-Lonand New Line (64 Km) 1,844
3 Wardha-Nanded New Line (284 Km) 3,445
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 Daund-Manmad Doubling (236 Km) 3,037
8 Kalyan-Kasara 3rd Line (68 Km) 1,433
9 Wardha-Nagpur 3rd Line (76 Km) 698
10 Wardha-Ballarshah 3rd Line (132 Km) 1,385
11 Itarsi-Nagpur 3rd Line (280 Km) 2,450
12 Rajnandgaon-Nagpur 3rd Line (228 Km) 3,545
13 Wardha-Nagpur 4th Line (79 Km) 1,137
14 Jalgaon-Manmad 4th Line (160 Km) 2,574
15 Bhusawal-Khandwa 3rd & 4th Line (131 Km) 3,285
16 Solapur-Tuljapur-Osmanabad New Line (95 Km) 2,933
17 Panvel-Chowk Double Line (17 Km) 491
18 Wardha-Balharshah 4th Line (135 Km) 2,226
19 Itarsi-Nagpur 4th Line (297 Km) 5,010
20 Wardha-Bhusawal 3rd & 4th Line (314 Km) 9,197
21 Asangaon-Kasara 4th Line (35 Km) 794S.No. Name of the project Cost (₹ In
crore)
22 Badlapur-Karjat 3rd & 4th Line (32 Km) 1,324
23 Gondia-Dongargarh 4th Line (84 Km) 2,223
24 Gondia-Balharshah Doubling (240 Km) 4,819
Construction works on the flagship High speed bullet train project have
gathered momentum in Maharashtra. Now 100% land acquisition has been
completed. Works of bridges, aqueducts etc. have been taken up.
Bullet Train project:
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508 km) is the
only HSR Project 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 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:
Gujarat (352 KM):
Item Progress
Foundation 352 kms.
Piers 352 kms.
Girder Casting 342 kms.Girder Launching 331 kms.
Track Bed Construction 152 kms.
OHE Masts Erection 121 kms.
Maharashtra (156 KM):
Item Progress
Foundation 77 kms.
Piers 67 kms.
Girder Casting 9 kms.
Girder Launching 3 kms.
Out of total 12 stations, foundation works has been completed at 8 stations
(Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Anand, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and
Sabarmati). In Maharashtra section, foundation work is in progress at 3
stations (Thane, Virar, Boisar) and excavation work at BKC station is near
completion and Casting of base slab started.
17 river bridges have been completed. Work is in advance stage for 4 major
river bridges (Narmada, Mahi, Tapti and Sabarmati) in Gujarat & in progress
in 4 river bridges in Maharashtra. Work on Depots (Thane, Surat and
Sabarmati) is in full swing.
Civil works at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) are progressing satisfactorily.
Excavation works have achieved about 91% progress, and concreting
works are at various stages, with 100% completion of the basement slab at
Level-4. 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.To ensure seamless passenger connectivity, the Government has planned
multi-modal integration of Bullet Train stations with the existing Mumbai
suburban railway network and upcoming metro lines. The integration
includes passenger connectivity with Metro Line-2B and Metro Line-3
through convenient pedestrian access at BKC station.
Bullet train project is a very complex and technology intensive Project.
Exact timelines for the completion of the project can be reasonably
ascertained after the completion of all associated works of Civil
Structures, Track, Electrical, Signaling& Telecommunication and supply of
Trainsets.
Dedicated freight corridor:
Western DFC also passes through Maharashtra. About 178 route Km of
western DFC is situated in Maharashtra which is about 12% of overall
route length of western DFC. 76 Km of this project from New Gholvad to
New Vaitarna in Maharashtra has already been commissioned. Balance
works have been taken up. Connectivity of WDFC to JNPT will boost the
capacity to handle cargo and container traffic from port to Delhi NCR.
Increasing train handling capacity in Mumbai area:
Presently, about 120 originating Mail/Express trains and about 3200 sub
urban trains are handled daily in Mumbai area. To increase train handling
capacity at various stations in Mumbai area, following works have been
completed/taken up/planned at various stations:
SN Location Details
1 Bandra Terminus 3 Pit Lines have been completed
2 Mumbai Central Platform extension for 24 LHB coaches
3 Jogeshwari 2 additional platformsSN Location Details
4 Dadar 1 additional platform
5 Vasai road 6 platforms, 3 pit lines and 5 stabling lines
6 Panvel-Kalamboli 5 platforms , 4 pit lines and 2 sick lines
7 Kalyan 6 platforms and 4 pit lines
8 LTT 4 platforms and 2 pit lines
9 Parel 6 platforms, 5 pit lines, 6 stabling lines
10 Virar 25 stabling lines
11 Dahanu road 11 stabling lines
12 Mira road 25 stabling lines
In addition to above, Platform extension work at 34 stations to
accommodate 15 car EMUs have been taken up.
Capacity Augmentation works for Pune Area:
Presently, about 33 originating Mail/Express trains are handled daily in
Pune area.
To increase train handling capacity at various stations in Pune area,
following works have been completed/taken up/planned at various
stations:
SN Location Details
1 Pune Junction 6 additional Platforms and Extension of 5
Platforms.
2 Hadapsar Extension of 3 Platforms to handle full
length trains.
3 Khadki Raising and Extension of PF-3/4 and
extension of running lines completed in
July’2025.
4 Alandi New Coaching Terminal with 9 additional
Platforms, 8 pit lines and 8 stabling lines
5 Phursungi 5 Stabling Lines at PhursungiIn addition to above, following capacity additional works have been
undertaken in Pune Area to increase the train handling capacity:
SN Name of Project
1 3rd Line between Hadapsar and Ghorpuri Yard
2 New Block station at Manjari Bhadrukin Pune-Daund Section and
Ramtekdi in Pune-Sasvad section
3 Bidirectional Signalling in Pune Sasvad Road Section
Further, during the last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the
current financial year 2025-26, 98 surveys (29 New Line, 2 Gauge
Conversion and 67 Doubling) of total length 8,615 Km falling fully/ partly in
the State of Maharashtra, have been sanctioned.
Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include
the following:
Land acquisition
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.
Sanction of any railway project depends 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 own operational requirements
Socio-economic considerations
Overall availability of funds
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.
AMRIT BHARAT STATIONS IN MAHARASHTRA:-
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, 1337 stations have been identified for development under this
scheme, out of which 132 stationsare located in Maharashtra. The names
of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
in Maharashtra are as following:State No. of Name of Stations
Stations
Maharashtra 132 Ahmednagar, Ajni (Nagpur), Akalkot Road, Akola,
Akurdi, Amalner, Amgaon, Amravati, Andheri,
Badnera, Balharshah, Bandra Terminus,
Baramati, Belapur, Bhandara Road, Bhokar,
Bhusawal, Borivali, Byculla, Chalisgaon, Chanda
Fort, Chandrapur, Charni Road, Chhatrapati
Sambhajinagar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Terminus, Chinchpokli, Chinchwad, Dadar (CR),
Dadar (WR), Dahisar, Daund, Dehu Road, Devlali,
Dhamangaon, Dharangaon, Dharashiv,
Dharmabad , Dhule, Diva, Dudhani, Gangakher ,
Godhani, Gondia, Grant Road, Hadapsar,
Hatkanangale, Hazur Sahib Nanded,
Himayatnagar, Hinganghat, Hingoli Deccan,
Igatpuri, Jalgaon, Jalna, Jeur, Jogeshwari,
Kalyan Jn, Kamptee, Kandivali, Kanjur Marg,
Karad, Katol, Kedgaon, Kinwat ,Kopargaon,
Kurduwadi Jn, Kurla Jn, Lasalgaon, Latur,
Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Lonand Jn, Lonavla,
Lower Parel, Malad, Malkapur, Manmad Jn,
Manwath Road , Marine Lines, Matunga, Miraj
Jn, Mudkhed Jn, Mumbai Central, Mumbra,
Murtizapur Jn, Nagasarol, Nagpur Jn, Nandgaon,
Nandura, Nandurbar, Narkher Jn, Nashik Road,
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Junction,
Pachora Jn, Palghar, Pandharpur, Panvel Jn,
ParbhaniJn, Parel, Parli Vaijnath, Partur,
Phaltan, Prabhadevi, Pulgaon Jn, Pune Jn, Purna
Jn, Raver, Rotegaon , Sainagar Shirdi, Sandhurst
Road, Sangli, Satara, Savda, Selu , Sewagram,
Shahad, Shegaon, Shivaji Nagar Pune, Shri
Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus Kolhapur,
Solapur, Talegaon, Thakurli, Thane, Titvala,
Tumsar Road, Umri, Uruli, Vadala Road,
Vidyavihar, Vikhroli, Wadsa, Wardha, Washim,
WatharCompleted Stations:
Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
in Maharashtra have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works of 17
stations (Amgaon, Baramati, Chanda Fort, Chinchpokli, Devlali, Dhule,
Kedgaon, Lasalgaon, Lonand Jn, Matunga, Murtizapur Jn, Nandura, Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Junction, Parel, Savda, Shahad, Vadala Road)
in Maharashtra have been completed under this scheme.
The activities for development at other stations have also been taken up at
good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:
Diva station: The works of improvement of station building, circulating
area and parking on East side, new entry gate, platform raising and
flooring of platform no. 5/6 and 7/8, platform shelter at platform no. 7/8,
new toilet block, sewage treatment plant on West side, improvement of
Foot Over Bridge at Kalyan end and Mumbai end and new staircase for
Foot Over Bridge have been completed. The works of new 6 m Foot Over
Bridge have been taken up.
Mumbra station: The works for improvement of platform surface,
seating arrangement, new toilet block, improvement of booking office,
circulating area, sewage treatment plant and flooring of Foot Over
Bridge have been completed. The work of escalator has been taken up.
Titwala station: The works for station building, entrance gate, platform
surfacing, improvement of ticket booking office, toilet block, sewage
treatment plant and improvement of two wheeler parking and approach
road on East and West side have been completed. The work of new 6 m
Foot Over Bridge have been taken up. Vikhroli station: The works for improvement of station building on West
side, platform surfacing, platform shelter, new toilet block at Mumbai
end, improvement of toilet block at Kalyan end and Foot Over Bridge
have been completed. The works of new booking office, circulating area
on East and West side and parking of East side have been taken up.
Igatpuri station: The structural work new station building, improvement
of existing station building, entrance gate, booking office, toilet block,
platform surfacing, platform shelter over stairs of Foot Over Bridge and
escalator, circulating area shelter and sewage treatment plant have
been completed. The finishing work of new station building has 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. Development / redevelopment /
upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category
of station/condition/traffic handled etc.
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 toworks carried out in close proximity of tracks and high voltage power lines,
etc. and these factors affect the completion time.
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. Maharashtra is covered under the jurisdiction of four railway
zones, namely, Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central
Railway and Western Railway. For these zones, an allocation of ₹ 3,834
crore has been made for the financial year 2025-26, out of which an
expenditure (up to January, 2026) of ₹ 3,461 crore has been incurred so far.
*****