Parliament Question: Utilization of Railway Land

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2963 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2025 UTILIZATION OF RAILWAY LAND 2963. SHRI ARUP CHAKRABORTY: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the steps taken for the re-development of vacant railway lands so as to generate a non-tariff revenue stream; (b) the details of the status of the re-development of various railway stations across the country; (c) whether the Government intends to launch affordable trains in the non-AC or sleeper category; (d) if so, the details thereof; and (e) the details of the steps taken to free railway land from illegal encroachments? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): Vacant Railway land, which is not required by Railways for its immediate operational needs, is entrusted to Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) for commercial redevelopment. RLDA carries out feasibility study of such vacant land through reputed architect, marketing and valuation consultant to assess the commercial potential - 1 -to generate non tariff revenue for railways. For commercially viable land parcels, open competitive bids are invited & highest bidder is awarded the site for commercial development. So far RLDA has awarded bids for commercial development of 19 Railway colonies, 48 commercial sites and 56 Multi Functional Complexes for generation of non tariff revenue to Railways. Indian Railways carry out regular eviction drives to remove encroachments on railway land. Whereas soft encroachments (encroachments of temporary nature) such as hawkers and squatters are removed with the assistance of Railway Protection Force and civic authorities, Hard encroachments (pucca structures) are removed in accordance with provisions contained in Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 (PPE Act, 1971), as amended from time to time. Actual eviction of unauthorized occupants is carried out with the assistance of State Government and police. Station Redevelopment: Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, platform surfacing and cover over platform, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. - 2 -The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, 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. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works of 105 stations 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. Development/Upgradation/Modernization of stations including Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head - 53 ‘Customer Amenities’. The fund allocation of ₹ 12,118 crore has been made for the financial year 2025-26 under Plan Head - 53 and expenditure (up to June, 2025) of ₹ 2,612 crore has been incurred so far. RLDA is also executing the redevelopment work of 15 stations across the country. Out of this, work at one station (Thane) is in planning stage & in progress on 14 stations. - 3 -Non A/C (General & Sleeper coaches): IR, have significantly increased the facilities for the benefit of economically weaker passengers who demand general/sleeper class travel. During the last financial year 2024-25 alone, 1250 general coaches have been utilised in various long-distance trains. To cater to the travel demand of the low and middle income families, Indian Railways have taken up 17,000 non-AC coaches (general/sleeper) over the next 5 years. On IR, the percentage of non-AC coaches is about 70% as indicated below: Table 1: Distribution of coaches: Coach type No. of Coaches Percentage Non-AC coaches (general ~57,200 ~70% and sleeper) AC coaches ~25,000 ~30% Total coaches ~82,200 100% Due to higher availability of general coaches, the number of passengers traveling in general/ unreserved coaches has shown an increasing trend as shown below: - 4 -Table 2: Passengers in general/unreserved coaches: Year No. of Passengers 2020-21 99 Cr (Covid year) 2021-22 275 Cr (Covid year) 2022-23 553 Cr 2023-24 609 Cr 2024-25 651 Cr The number of seats available for non-AC passengers has also increased over the years. The current composition is as follows: Table 3: Distribution of seats: Seat Type No. of seats Percentage Non-AC seats ~ 54 lakhs ~ 78% AC seats ~ 15 lakhs ~ 22% Total ~ 69 lakhs 100% Given the above data, it is clear that Indian Railways is committed to the low and middle income families who prefer railways as an affordable means of transportation. - 5 -Amrit Bharat Express: Railways have developed a fully non-AC modern train named as Amrit Bharat Express. Already 14 services are in operation. The present composition of Amrit Bharat consists of 11 General Class coaches, 8 Sleeper Class coaches, 01 Pantry car and 02 Luggage cum Divyangjan coaches. High Speed and enhanced Safety standards are the hallmarks of these trains with following enhanced features and amenities: i. Better aesthetics of seat and berths with enhanced look & feel on the lines of Vande Bharat Sleeper. ii. Jerk Free Semi-Automatic Couplers. iii. Improved Crashworthiness in coaches by provision of crash tube. iv. Provision of CCTV system in all coaches and Luggage room. v. Improved designs of toilets. vi. Improved design of Ladder for ease of climbing on to the berth. vii. Improved LED Light fitting & Charging Sockets. viii. Provision of EP assisted braking system. ix. Aerosol based fire suppression system in toilets and electrical cubicles. x. USB Type-A and Type-C mobile charging sockets. xi. Emergency Talk Back system for two-way communication between Passenger and Guard/Train Manager. xii. Non-AC pantry with enhanced heating capacity. xiii. Fully sealed gangways with quick release mechanism for easy attachment and detachment. - 6 -Development of Amrit Bharat Express trains, manufacturing of MEMU trains, and increasing the share of general coaches clearly shows that Indian Railways is catering effectively to the demand for travel in general class. Further, to cater to the needs of passengers desirous of availing unreserved accommodation, Indian Railways (IR) operate unreserved non-AC passenger trains/MEMU/EMU etc. for affordable travel, which are in addition to the unreserved accommodation (coaches) available in Mail/Express services. Standard Composition: To provide greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches, the extant policy regarding composition of Mail/Express trains provides for 12 (Twelve) General class & Sleeper class non-AC coaches and 08 (eight) AC-Coaches, in a train of 22 coaches. ******* - 7 -