Parliament Question: Structural Progress of Railway Stations under ABSS

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2951 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 STRUCTURAL PROGRESS OF RAILWAY STATIONS UNDER ABSS 2951. DR. PRADEEP KUMAR PANIGRAHY: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the details of total capital expenditure incurred and structural progress made under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) during the last two financial years with a breakdown of redeveloped stations, State/UT, year and station-wise; (b) the absolute route-kilometer coverage currently equipped with the indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, 'Kavach', across high-density rail corridors as of June 2026; and (c) the definite targeted timelines set by the Government to achieve 100 per cent Kavach deployment across the remaining trunk lines of the entire rail network? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c) Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach. So far, 1,340 stations have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 261 stations have been completed. 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. The fund allocation of ₹ 37,086 crore has been made for the last two § Page 1 of 10years and current financial year under Plan Head – 53 and expenditure (up to June, 2026) of ₹ 30,011 crore has been incurred so far. Amrit Bharat Station 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, 1340 stations have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 261 stations have been completed, Page 2 of 10work at the balance stations are at different stages of execution / tendering / master planning. The names of stations completed are as under: Aishbagh Junction, Alnavar, Amb Andaura, Ambasamudram, Ambikapur, Amgaon, Anandpur Sahib, Anara, Angamali for Kaladi, Ashoknagar, Ayodhya Dham Junction, Bachhrawan, Badami, Bagalkot, Baheri, Baijnath Paprola, Balaghat, Balangir, Balod, Balrampur, Banmankhi, Bantawala, Barabhum, Baramati, Bareilly City, Baripada, Barmer, Barpali, Begumpet, Beohari, Bhaktinagar, Bhanupratappur, Bhilai, Bhind, Bijnor, Bimalgarh, Bommidi, Bundi, Byculla, Chaibasa, Chalakudi, Champa, Chanda Fort, Chandil, Changanassery, Chennai Park, Chhindwara, Chidambaram, Chinchpokli, Chinna Salem, Chirayinkeezh, Chunar Junction, Coonoor, Cumbum, Cuttack, Dakor, Daliganj, Dallirajhara, Dauram Madhepura, Dausa, Deeg, Derol, Deshnoke, Devlali, Dhampur, Dharwad, Dhule, Digha, Dongargarh, Eluru, Fatehabad, Fatehnagar, Fatehpur, Fatehpur Shekhawati, Ferok, Gadag, Gangapur City, Garbeta, Gauriganj, Giridih, Godda, Godhra Junction, Gogameri, Gokak Road, Gola Gokarnath, Gomtinagar, Gotan, Govardhan, Govind Garh, Govindpur Road, Govindpuri, Guruvayur, Hafizpet, Haibargaon, Haldia, Haldibari, Hapa, Harpalpur, Harrawala, Hathras City, Hi-Tech City, Himayatnagar, Hodal, Hosapete, Idgah Agra Junction, Izzatnagar, Jaisalmer, Jalandhar Cantonment Junction, Jalpaiguri Road, Jam Jodhpur, Jam Wanthali, Jangaon, Jind Junction, Joychandi Pahar Junction, Junnor Deo, Kahalgaon, Kakinada Town Junction, Kalka, Kalyani Ghoshpara, Kamakhyaguri, Kanalus Junction, Karaikkudi Junction, Karamsad, Karimnagar, Katni South, Katrasgarh, Kedgaon, Kesinga, Khairthal, Khalilabad, Khambhaliya, Khariar Road, Koppal, Kosamba Junction, Kotdwar, Kulitturai, Kuttippuram, Lasalgaon, Limbdi, Lohardaga, Lonand Junction, Madhupur Junction, Mahbubabad, Mahe, Mahuva, Mailani Junction, Majbat, Malkapur, Mambalam, Manaparai, Mandal Garh, Page 3 of 10Mandawar Mahwa Road, Mandi Dabwali, Mangalagiri, Mannargudi, Matunga, Mavelikara, MCS Chhatarpur, Mithapur, Modinagar, Mohanlalganj, Morappur, Morbi, Muktsar, Munirabad, Muri Junction, Murtizapur Junction, Nainpur Junction, Namakkal, Nandura, Narmadapuram, Narwana Junction, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Junction, Nidadavolu Junction, Nilambur Road, Okha, Orai, Orchha, Pakur, Palani, Palitana, Panagarh, Panki Dham, Paramakkudi, Parappanangadi, Parel, Parlakhemundi, Phaphamau Junction, Pirpainti, Piska, Pokhrayan, Pollachi Junction, Polur, Porbandar, Pratapnagar, Prayag Junction, Raj Nandgaon, Rajgarh, Rajmahal, Rajula Junction, Ramagundam, Ramgarh Cantonment, Ramghat Halt, Ranibennur, Rayanapadu, Sabaur, Saharanpur Junction, Sahibganj, Salempur, Samakhiyali, Samalpatti, Sanchi, Sankarpur, Sarona, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar Mohali, Savda, Seoni, Shahad, Shajapur, Shamli, Shivanarayanpur, Shivpuri, Sholavandan, Shoranur Juuction, Shridham, Siddharth Nagar, Sihor Junction, Simultala, Siuri, Sojat Road, Somesar, Sri Bala Brahmeswara Jogulamba, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St. Thomas Mount, Subramanya Road, Sullurpeta, Suraimanpur, Swaminarayan Chappia, Talcher, Tamluk, Tanakpur, Thalassery, Thawe, Thiruvarur Junction, Tikamgarh, Tirur, Tiruvannamalai, Tripunithura, Tuni, Udagamandalam, Ujhani, Urkura, Utran, Vadakara, Vadala Road, Vidisha, Vindhyachal, Vriddhachalam Junction, Wadakancheri, Warangal The activities for development at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as below:  Bhubaneswar station: The works of new West side and East side station building, air concourse, elevated driveway at West and East side and extension of foot over bridge have been completed. The works of improvement of platform surface, improvement of circulating area, platform shelters, lifts and escalators have been taken up. Page 4 of 10 Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar station: The works of new post office building and parcel office, new Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police building at North side have been completed. The works of new arrival and departure building at South side, new waiting hall, toilet, air concourse, 6 m wide foot over bridge, through roof, new underground tanks at North and South sides, new sewage treatment plant at North and South side, and new electrical sub station building have been taken up.  Gaya station: The work of new arrival building at second entry has been completed. The works of new departure building at second entry, new arrival and departure building at main entry, new platform no. 8, new platform shelters, air concourse and improvement of circulating area have been taken up.  Nagpur Junction station: The works of relocation of passenger reservation system building and booking offices, and improvement of parking on the main entry side have been completed. The works of new admin building, departure building and basement parking on main entry side, construction of departure building and unified basement on second entry side, new air concourse, improvement of platform surface at platform no. 8 and new platform shelters have been taken up.  Rameswaram station: The works of revamping Multi Functional Complex building into retiring rooms, structural works of East and North terminal building, parcel office, departure forecourt, arrival forecourt, substation building and sewage treatment plant have been completed. The finishing works of East terminal building, North Page 5 of 10terminal building, departure forecourt, sewage treatment plant, arrival forecourt, platform shelter and improvement of waiting hall have been taken up.  Tirupati station: The structural works of new South side station building (G+3+Basement), structural works of new North side station building, air concourse, underground and overhead water tanks, sewage treatment plant, rainwater harvesting, ramp to foot over bridge, lifts and escalators have been completed. The finishing works of station buildings, connecting bridge, approach road and platform shelters 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 of railway stations is a complex in nature involving safety of passengers & trains and requires various statutory clearances such as tree cutting, heritage, fire clearance, airport clearance etc. These stations are in operation since long, so brownfield work challenges are being faced, such as shifting of utilities (involving water/sewage lines, optical fibre cables, gas pipelines, power/signal cables, etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed restrictions due to works carried out in close proximity of the tracks and near to high voltage power lines, etc. and these factors affect the progress of work and completion time. Page 6 of 10Indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system “Kavach” 1. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order (SIL-4). 2. Kavach aids the Loco Pilot in running of trains within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps the trains to run safely during inclement weather. 3. The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. Based on the experience gained and Independent Safety Assessment of the system by Independent Safety Assessor (ISA), three firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach Ver 3.2. 4. Kavach was adopted as National ATP system in July, 2020. 5. Implementation of Kavach System involves following Key Activities: a. Installation of Station Kavach at each and every station, block section. b. Installation of RFID Tags throughout the track length. c. Installation of telecom Towers throughout the section. d. Laying of Optical Fibre Cable along the track. e. Provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways. 6. Based on deployment of Kavach version 3.2 on 1,465 RKm on South Central Railway and experience gained, further improvements were made. Finally, Kavach specification version 4.0 was approved by RDSO on 16.07.2024. 7. Kavach version 4.0 covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. This is a significant milestone in safety for Indian Page 7 of 10Railways. Within a short period, IR has developed, tested and started deploying Automatic Train Protection System. 8. Major improvement in Version 4.0 includes increased Location Accuracy, Improved Information of Signal Aspects in bigger yards, Station to Station Kavach interface on OFC and Direct Interface to existing Electronic Interlocking System. With these improvements, Kavach Ver.4.0. is planned for large scale deployment over Indian Railways. 9. After extensive and elaborate trials, Kavach Version 4.0 has been successfully commissioned on 2,633 Route Kilometres as on 31.07.26, covering the high density Delhi- Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes as below: SN Section Progress (Route Km) (1) Delhi-Mumbai route: 1,423 Rkm i Tilak Bridge - Junction cabin – Palwal 1,327 – Mathura –Kota-Nagda-Ratlam– Vadodara-Virar section ii Vadodara – Ahmedabad section 96 (2) Delhi – Howrah route: 1,210 Rkm i. Chipyana - Tundla - Kanpur - 563 Subedarganj section ii. Kanpur – Lucknow section 71 iii. Mirzapur - DDU (Excluding) section 64 Page 8 of 10iv. DDU(FOC)-Bhabua Road section 50 v. Sasaram - Phesar section 43 vi. Gaya -Sarmatarn- Nimiaghat section 159 vii. Chota Ambana - Bardhaman – Howrah 260 section 10. In addition, track side Kavach implementation work has been taken up on 21,794 RKM covering all GQ, GD, HDN and identified sections of Indian Railways. 11. The total Progress of key items of Kavach on Indian Railway sections are as under:- SN Item Progress i Laying of Optical Fibre Cable 11,547 Km ii Installation of Telecom 1,721 Nos. Towers iii Station Data Centre 1,009 station iv Installation of Track side 7,726 RKm equipment v Provision of Kavach in Loco 6,290 Nos. 12. In addition, work for installation of Kavach in 7,190 Locomotives and 1,200 EMU/MEMU has been taken up. 13. Specialized training programmes on Kavach are being conducted at centralized training institutes of Indian Railways to impart training to all Page 9 of 10concerned officials. By now more than 94,000 technicians, operators and engineers have been trained on Kavach technology. This includes about 57,000 Loco Pilots & Assistant Loco Pilots. Courses have been designed in collaboration with IRISET. 14. The cost for provision of Track Side including Station equipment of Kavach is approximately Rs. 50 Lakhs/Km and cost for provision of Kavach equipment on locomotives is approximately Rs. 80 Lakh/Loco. 15. The funds utilized on Kavach works so far up to Jun'26 is Rs. 3,875 Crores. The allocation of funds during the year 2026-27 is Rs. 2,066 Crores. Kavach work is going at good pace in the entire country. Requisite funds are made available as per the progress of works. ***** Page 10 of 10