Parliament Question: Total budgetary allocation for rail infrastructure in North Eastern Region

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2513 ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026 TOTAL BUDGETARY ALLOCATION FOR RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE IN NORTH EASTERN REGION 2513 SHRI BIRENDRA PRASAD BAISHYA: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the total budgetary allocation made in the Union Budget 2026–27 for the development of rail infrastructure in the North Eastern Region, including the North Eastern Railway; (b) the State-wise and project-wise break-up of this allocation; and (c) the physical and financial progress achieved so far on major ongoing and new railway projects in the region? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): North Eastern Region Railway Budget: States in North Eastern Region are covered under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). Budget allocation during the last five years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region (NER) is as under:- Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹2,122 crore/year 2025-26 ₹10,440 crore (about 5 times) Track Construction: The details of constructing new track falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region (NER) during 2009- 14 and 2014-2025 is as under:- Contd...2/- §-:2:- Period New track Commissioned Average commissioning of new tracks 2009-14 333 Km 66.6 Km/year 2014-25 1,840 Km 167.27 Km/year (about 2.5 times) Projects sanctioned: As on 01.04.2025, 12 Railway projects (08 New Lines, 04 Doubling), of a total length of 777 Km, costing ₹69,342 crore falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region (NER) have been sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Exp. upto sanctioned Length Commissioned upto Mar’25 projects (in Km) Mar’25 (in Km) (₹ in Cr.) New Lines 08 448 113 38,078 Doubling/ 04 329 165 3,598 Multitracking Total 12 777 278 41,676 Recently completed projects: Projects commissioned falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region, are as under: S.No. Project Cost (₹ in crore) 1 Agartala - Sabroom new line (112 Km) 3,170 2 865 Agartala - Akhaura new line (5 Km) 3 3,019 Rangiya - Murkongselek gauge conversion (510 Km) Contd...3/- §-:3:- 4 1,242 Kumarghat - Agartala gauge conversion (109 Km) 5 Lumding - Badarpur - Silchar & Badarpur - Kumarghat gauge 6,500 conversion (412 Km) 6 410 Lumding - Hojai doubling (45 Km) 7 Digaru - Hojai doubling (102 Km) 1,873 8 New Bongaigaon - Agthori doubling (143 Km) 2,048 9 Bogibeel Bridge (92 Km) 5,820 In addition, to provide capital connectivity to Border State of Mizoram, Bhairabi - Sairang (51.38 Km.) new line project has been completed and commissioned recently in September, 2025. This project comprises of 45 tunnels, 55 major bridges and 88 minor bridges built through the difficult terrain and complex geological conditions in the region. With the completion of this project, Aizawl becomes the fourth North-Eastern state capital, after Guwahati, Naharlagun (for Itanagar) and Agartala, to be connected to the Indian Railways network. To provide connectivity beyond Sairang in Mizoram, Final Location Survey (FLS) for Sairang - Hbichhuah (223 Km.) new line has been sanctioned for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). Ongoing Projects: Some of the main projects falling fully/partly in the North Eastern Region which have been taken up are as under:- S.No. Name of the project Cost (₹ In crore) 1 Jiribam - Imphal new line (111 Km) 21,886 2 Dimapur - Kohima new line (82 Km) 15,230 Contd...4/- §-:4:- 3 Murkongselek - Pasighat new line (27 Km) 1,249 4 New Bongaigaon - Goalpara - Guwahati (Kamakhaya) doubling (176 4,962 Km) 5 Saraighat Bridge doubling (7 Km) 1,474 6 Kamkhya Guwahati 3rd line (6 Km) 395 7 Lumding – Furkating doubling (140 Km) 2,124 8 Furkating – Tinsukia doubling (194 Km) 3,634 Further, during the last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current financial year 2025- 26, 45 surveys (24 New Line, and 21 Doubling) of total length 3,590 Km falling in Northeast Frontier Railway have been sanctioned. Completion of Railway project/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. 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. ***** §