Parliament Question: Railway Projects in Sasaram Lok Sabha Constituency

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2908 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 RAILWAY PROJECTS IN SASARAM LOK SABHA CONSTITUENCY 2908. SHRI MANOJ KUMAR: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the current physical and financial progress of the under-construction Sasaram North Junction (Karmadihri) and Rail Over Rail (RoR)/Flyover Project in Sasaram Lok Sabha Constituency along with its targeted completion timeline; (b) the present status of the doubling of the Ara–Sasaram rail section including the progress made in land acquisition and Final Location Survey (FLS); (c) whether the Government is considering the proposals for constructing new rail lines between Ara–Bhabhua Road and Sasaram–Chunar and if so, the updated status of the sanctioned/proposed surveys for these routes; (d) the details of railway stations under Sasaram Lok Sabha Constituency selected under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) along with the funds sanctioned and utilised for upgrading passenger amenities at these stations; and (e) the details of projects ROBs underpasses and other infra development projects sanctioned, proposed in the said Constituency during the May 2024 to July 2026, year and project-wise? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): Rail Over Rail (ROR) at Sasaram connecting Grand Chord line with Ara-Sasaram Line (9 Km) has been sanctioned at a cost of ₹470 Cr. § Page 1 of 13Expenditure of ₹24 Cr has been incurred in this project and ₹52 Cr has been allocated in FY 2026-27. Land acquisition has been completed. 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 depends upon appraisals and approvals by various stakeholders. Ara-Bhabua Road (122 km) new line not taken forward due to sanctioned work of Ara-Sasaram new line work. To augment the capacity, Final Location Survey (FLS) for Ara-Sasaram doubling (97 Km) has been sanctioned for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). Sasaram-Chunar is part of existing Delhi-Howrah High Density Network route and presently have 03 line rail network and double line Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor network. Bihar: Railway Budget: Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the Bihar is as under:- Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹1,132 Cr./year 2026-27 ₹10,379 Cr. (More than 9 times) Page 2 of 13Track construction: The details of commissioning/laying of new track falling fully/partly in the State of Bihar is as under:- Period New Track Average Commissioning of new Commissioned tracks 2009-14 318 Km 63.6 Km/year 2014-26 2,034 Km 169.5 Km/year (More than 2.5 times) Projects sanctioned: As on 01.04.2026, 59 projects (32 New Lines, 01 Gauge Conversions and 26 Doubling), covering a total length of 5,067 km, costing ₹96,651 crore, falling fully/partly in Bihar are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No of Total Length Total Exp upto sanction Length Commissione Mar'26 ed (in Km) d till Mar'26 (₹ in Cr) Projects (in Km) New Lines 32 2,616 533 14,806 Gauge 1 69 52 544 Conversion Doubling/Mult 26 2,382 465 14,509 i-tracking Total 59 5,067 1,050 29,860 Page 3 of 13Recently completed projects: Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Bihar are as under:- SN. Project Cost (In Crores of Rs) 1 Patna bridge (28 Km) 3,310 2 Munger rail cum road Bridge (15 Km) 3,040 3 Kosi Bridge (22 Km) 863 4 Daniawan-Biharsharif new line (38 Km) 354 5 Chandan-Banka new line (40 Km) 496 6 Rampurhat-Mandarhill new line (130 Km) 908 7 Maharajganj-Masrakh new line (35 Km) 412 8 Rajgir-Tilaiya & Natesar-lslampur new line (67 726 Km) 9 Jaynagar-Narkatiaganj gauge conversion (260 967 Km) 10 Kaptanganj-Chhapra gauge conversion (234 819 Km) 11 Sakri-Nirmali, Saharasa-Forbesganj gauge 2,113 conversion (206 Km) 12 Mansi-Saharsa, Saharsa-Purnia, Banmakhi- 752 Bihariganj gauge conversion (169 Km) 13 Sahibganj-Pirpainti doubling (23 Km) 129 14 Maheshkunt-Thanabihpur doubling (32 Km) 115 15 Hajipur-Ramdayalu Nagar doubling (48 Km) 367 16 Pirpainti-Bhagalpur doubling (51 Km) 493 17 Kiul-Gaya doubling (124 Km) 2,462 Page 4 of 1318 Hajipur-Bachwara doubling (72 Km) 930 19 Araria-Galgalia (Thakurganj) new line (110 Km) 2,132 20 Samastipur-Darbhanga Doubling (38 Km) 874 Ongoing projects: Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Bihar which have been taken up are as under: SN. Project Cost (Rs. in Cr.) 1 Sakri-Hasanpur new line (76 Km) 802 2 Fatuha-lslampur new line (167 Km) 3,158 3 Koderma-Tilaiya new line (65 Km) 2,287 4 Hajipur-Sagauli new line (151 Km) 2,820 5 Araria-Supaul new line (96 Km) 2,170 6 Kursela-Bihariganj new line (58 Km) 194 7 Pirpainti-Jassidih new line (97 Km) 2,700 8 Chhitauni-Tumkuhi Road new line (59 Km) 1,881 9 Jalalgarh-Kishanganj new line (51 Km) 407 10 Sitamarhi-Nirmali new line (189 Km) 2,833 11 Bihta-Aurangabad new line (120 Km) 3,606 12 Gaya-Chatra and Gaya-Natesar new line (135 4,543 Km) 13 Sultanganj-Katuria new line (77 Km) 291 14 Jaynagar-Bijalpura Gauge conversion (69 Km) 900 15 Dhanbad-Sonnagar 3rd line (291 Km) 7,906 16 Sagauli-Valmikinagar Doubling (110 Km) 1,456 17 Muzaffarpur-Sugauli Doubling (101 Km) 1,745 18 Barauni-Bachwara 3rd & 4th line (32 Km) 486 Page 5 of 1319 Narkatiaganj-Darbhanga, Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur 4,080 doubling (256 Km) 20 Chhapra-Ballia Patch Doubling (65 Km) 1,046 21 Katihar-Kumedpur and Katihar-Mukuria Doubling 943 (65 Km) 22 Son Nagar-Andal Multitracking (749 Km) 12,334 23 Punarakh- Bhaktiyarpur New 4th line & balance 422 3rd line (28 Km) 24 Aluabari Road-Thakurganj Doubling (20 Km) 327 25 Bhagalpur-Jamalpur 3rd line (53 Km) 1,156 26 Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat doubling (177 Km) 3,169 27 Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir-Tilaiya doubling (104 Km) 2,192 28 Bakthiyarpur-Fatuha 3rd and 4th line (24 Km) 931 29 Punarakh-Kiul 3rd and 4th line (50 Km) 2,668 30 Kiul-Jhajha 3rd Line (54 Km) 962 31 Mansi-Saharsa doubling (44 Km) 499 Completion of Railway projects/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. All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s. Station Redevelopment: Page 6 of 13Ministry 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 of Indian Railways. The master planning, keeping in view the necessity of each station, 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/subway to commensurate with passenger traffic • Provision of lifts/escalators/ramps • Improvement of platform surface/ provision of platform shelter • Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’ • Parking development • Amenities for Divyangjans • Better passenger information systems • Provision of air concourse, executive lounges, Multimodal integration, landscaping, etc. The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment friendly solutions etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1,340 stations have been identified for development under this scheme, out of which 98 stations including Bhabua Road, Kudra and Sasaram stations of Sasaram Lok Sabha Constituency, are located in Bihar. Page 7 of 13The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Bihar are as following: State No. of Name of Stations Stations Bihar 98 Anugraha Narayan Road, Ara, Arariya Court, Bakhtiyarpur, Banka, Banmankhi, Bapudham Motihari, Barahiya, Barauni, Barh, Barsoi Jn, Begusarai, Bettiah, Bhabua Road, Bhagalpur, Bhagwanpur, Bihar Sharif, Bihiya, Bikramganj, Buxar, Chakia, Chausa, Chhapra, Dalsingh Sarai, Darbhanga, Dauram Madhepura, Dehri On Sone, Dholi, Dighwara, Dumraon, Durgauti, Ekma, Fatuha, Gaya, Ghorasahan, Guraru, Hajipur Jn, Jamalpur Jn, Jamui, Janakpur Road, Jaynagar, Jehanabad, Jhanjharpur, Kahalgaon, Karhagola Road, Katihar Jn, Khagaria Jn, Kishanganj, Kudra, Labha, Laheria Sarai, Lakhminia, Luckeesarai Jn, Madhubani, Maheshkhunt, Mairwa, Mansi Jn, Masrakh, Mokama, Motipur, Munger (Monghyr), Muzaffarpur Jn, Nabinagar Road, Narkatiaganj Jn, Naugachia, Nawadah, Paharpur, Patliputra, Patna Jn, Piro, Pirpainti, Rafiganj, Raghunathpur., Rajendra Nagar Terminal (Patna), Rajgir, Ram Dayalu Nagar, Raxaul, Sabaur, Sagauli, Saharsa, Sahibpur Kamal, Sakri, Salauna, Salmari, Samastipur, Sasaram, Shahpur Patoree, Shivanarayanpur, Page 8 of 13State No. of Name of Stations Stations Simri Bakhtiyarpur, Simultala, Sitamarhi, Siwan, Sonpur Jn., Sultanganj, Supaul, Taregna, Thakurganj, Thawe Completed station of Bihar: Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Bihar have been taken up at a good pace. Details of stations completed in Bihar are as under: No. of State Name of stations stations Bihar 08 Banmankhi, DauramMadhepura, Kahalgaon, Pirpainti, Sabaur, Shivanarayanpur, Simultala, Thawe 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: Sasaram Lok Sabha Constituency of Bihar ● Bhabua Road station: The work of new platform shelter has been completed. The works of improvement of station building, 12 m wide foot over bridge, improvement of circulating area, parking, improvement of platform surface and new toilet block have been taken up. ● Kudra station: The work of new platform shelter has been completed. The works of improvement of station building, 6 m wide foot over bridge, improvement of circulating area, parking, improvement of platform surface, new toilet block have been taken up. Page 9 of 13● Sasaram station: The works of new toilet block, platform shelter and entrance gate have been completed. The works of improvement of station building, new canopy, 6 m wide foot over bridge, improvement of circulating area, parking and improvement of platform surface have been taken up. Other Stations of Bihar  Gaya station: The work of new second entry arrival building has been completed. The works of new second entry departure building, main entry new arrival and departure building, new platform no. 8, new platform shelters, air concourse and improvement of circulating area have been taken up.  Muzaffarpur station: The work of combined terminal building, 3 m wide skywalk (north side), booking counter and office buildings have been completed. The work of main station building (phase-I), elevated road, arrival terminal building, departure terminal building, multi-level car parking, 6m wide skywalk (south side), 18 m wide foot over bridge and sewage treatment plant have been taken up.  Sitamarhi station: The works of temporary booking office, parcel building and coolie rest room have been completed. The works of new second entry station building, main entry station building, overhead water tank and underground water tank have been taken up.  Luckeesarai Junction station: The works of new main entry station building, extension of foot over bridge and improvement of circulating area have been completed. The work of installation of lift for existing foot over bridge has been taken up.  Fatuha station: The works of extension of platform no. 6, improvement of circulating area at second entry and approach road have been completed. The work of new station building, lifts and escalator have been taken up. Page 10 of 13 Anugraha Narayan Road station: The works of extension and surfacing of platform no. 1/2 & 3/4 and new toilet block have been completed. The works of improvement of station building, improvement of circulating area, entry/exit gate, new water booths, platform shelter and new 6 m wide foot over bridge have been taken up.  Dehri On Sone station: The works of new booking office, new foot over bridge, lifts, improvement of circulating area, new toilet block, new water booth and new platform shelter 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. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc. Development / upgradation / modernisation of stations including under 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 station-wise or state- wise. Bihar is covered under the jurisdiction of four railway zones, namely, Eastern Railway, East Central Railway, North Eastern Railwayand Northeast Frontier Railway. For these zones, an allocation of ₹ 1,543 crore has been made for the financial year 2026-27, out of which an expenditure (up to June, 2026) of ₹ 677 crore has been incurred so far. ROBs & RUBs: Sanctioning of works of Road over Bridge (ROB)/Road under Bridge (RUB) in lieu of Level crossings (LCs) is a continuous and dynamic process of Indian Railway. Such works are prioritised and taken up on the basis of their Page 11 of 13impact on safety in train operations, mobility of trains & impact for road users and feasibility etc. No. of ROBs/ RUBs constructed on Indian Railways during the period 2004- 14 vis a vis 2014-26 (Upto May'2026) is as under: Period ROBS/ RUBS constructed 2004-14 4,148 2014-26 (Upto May'26) 14,451 (580 in the State of Bihar) As on 01.06.2026, 4,993 Nos. ROBs/ RUBs works are sanctioned at a cost of approx. ₹1,17,492 Cr on Indian Railways including 328 Nos. ROBs/ RUBs works at a cost of approx. ₹12,250 Cr in the state of Bihar which are at various stages of planning and execution. There are 12 Nos. ROBs, 03 Nos. RUBs and 08 Nos. LCs in Sasaram Lok Sabha constituency at present. 08 Nos. ROB/ RUB works are sanctioned at a cost of approx. ₹12.15 Cr for elimination of the balance LCs. These works are held up due to public agitation and fresh feasibility studies have been taken up for these works. Completion & commissioning of ROB/RUB works depends on various factors like cooperation of State Governments in giving consent for closure of LC, fixing of approach alignment, approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachment, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, law and order situation in the area of project / work sites, duration of working season in a year for the particular project / area due to climatic conditions etc. All these factors affect the completion time of the projects / works. Page 12 of 13Further, Railways have taken following measures to expedite the progress of work: i. Joint survey with concerned State Govt./Road Owning Authority is done before finalizing the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) to ensure smooth execution. ii. Periodic meetings of Railway & State Government officials are done to resolve various issues related to ROB/RUB works. iii. Standardization of superstructure and substructure drawings for various combinations of span, skewness and width of road on the Railway portion has been done to avoid delays during the design approval. This has been issued in the form of a compendium, which can be directly adopted for Road Over Bridge across Railway lines for expeditious planning. ***** Page 13 of 13