Parliament Question: Railway Connectivity to Bageshwar District

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 396 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025 RAILWAY CONNECTIVITY TO BAGESHWAR DISTRICT †*396. SHRI AJAY BHATT: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has planned any railway project to connect Bageshwar district to the rail network; (b) if so, the present status, estimated cost and time schedule thereof; and (c) if not, whether the Government proposes to make any action plan in this regard in the near future? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 396 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025 (a) to (c): The field survey for Tanakpur-Bageshwar New Line (170 Km) has been completed and Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared. As per the DPR, the cost of the project has been assessed as ₹48,692 Cr. The project has low traffic projections. After firming up 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 cannot be fixed. Uttarakhand: Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Uttarakhand is as under: Outlay Period ₹187 Crore/year 2009-14 ₹4,641 Crore (nearly 25 times) 2025-26 As on 01.04.2025, 03 New Lines, covering total length of 216 Km costing ₹40,384 crore falling fully/partly in the State of Uttarakhand are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- No. of Total Length Exp. Category sanctioned Length Commissioned upto Mar'25 projects (Km) Upto Mar'25 (Km) (Rs. in Cr.) New Line 03 216 16 19,898 Contd…2-2- The status of major projects falling fully/partly in the State of Uttarakhand is as under:  Recently, Deoband-Roorkee new line project (27 Km) has been completed. It will reduce the distance between Delhi and Dehradun by approx. 40 Km.  Rishikesh-Karnaprayag new rail line project (125 Km) is an important project of Indian Railways which lies completely in the State of Uttarakhand. It passes through difficult geological and challenging terrain of Himalayas. This project is aimed at transforming connectivity in Uttarakhand. The project alignment passes through Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudra Prayag and Chamoli Districts of Uttarakhand and will provide rail connectivity to Devprayag and Karnaprayag religious and tourist spots with Rishikesh and National Capital of India. The project involves construction of 16 main line tunnels of 105 Km length and 12 escape tunnels of about 98 Km length. So far, 13 main line tunnels and 9 escape tunnels have been completed. Works of all 8 Adits have also been completed. Tunneling of 199 Km against total scope of 213 Km has been completed. 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. Contd…3-3- Station development projects in the State of Uttarakhand: To enhance customer experience and provide better amenities, Indian 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 Contd…4-4- 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. 11 stations in the State of Uttarakhand have been identified for development under this scheme. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the State of Uttarakhand are as following: No. of Amrit State Names of Amrit Stations Stations Uttarakhand 11 Dehradun, Haridwar Jn., Harrawala, Kashipur Jn., Kathgodam, Kichha, Kotdwar, Lal Kuan Jn., Ramnagar, Roorkee, Tanakpur Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the State of Uttarakhand have been taken up at a good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:  Kathgodam station: The works of improvement of waiting rooms, toilet block and entrance lobby have been completed. The works of lifts, improvement of circulating area, approach roads and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up.  Kashipur Junction station: The work of modern toilet block, improvement of circulating area, parking, construction of porch, platform raising and surfacing have been completed. The work of improvement of station building, Divyangjan facilities and lift have been taken up. Contd…5-5-  Lal Kuan Junction station: The work of platform raising and surfacing, improvement of circulating area and parking, water booths, signage, lighting, improvement of station building have been completed. The work of 12 m Foot Over Bridge and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up.  Ramnagar station: The work of toilet block, improvement of old station building, waiting room, construction of porch, raising of platform, extension of Passenger Reservation System building, development of circulating area, new platform shelter, signages, lighting, landscaping, tactile pathways, water booth, low height ticket counter and parking have been completed. The work of finishing has been taken up.  Tanakpur station: The works of improvement of station building, waiting room, circulating area, parking area, toilet, platform shelters have been completed. The works of platforms shed, lift, signage, lighting and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up. ROBs/RUBs in the State of Uttarakhand: To improve safety in train operations and mobility of road users, Road Over Bridges/ Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) are constructed in lieu of Level Crossings (LCs) etc. During 2014-25, 106 ROBs/RUBs have been constructed in the State of Uttarakhand. Further, as on 01.04.2025, 9 ROBs/RUBs at cost of ₹158 crore have been sanctioned in the State of Uttarakhand which are at various stages of planning and execution. *****