Parliament Question: Varanasi-Siliguri High-Speed Rail Corridor

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1739 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2026 VARANASI-SILIGURI HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR 1739. SHRI SUDAMA PRASAD: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether proposed Varanasi-Siliguri High-Speed Rail Corridor is planned to pass through Bhojpur district in Bihar and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether any station has been proposed near Ara/Udwant Nagar and the present status of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether land acquisition, preliminary surveys or socio-economic impact assessments have commenced for the proposed corridor in Bihar and if so, the details thereof; (d) the details of the expected investment, route length and timeline for implementation of the project in Bihar; and (e) the details of the measures proposed to ensure adequate rehabilitation, compensation and stakeholder consultation for affected landowners? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): Presently, the Mumbai-Amdavad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508 km) is under execution. The Project is passing through the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli with 12 stations planned at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Amdavad and Sabarmati. Entire land (1389.5 Ha.) for MAHSR project has been acquired. All Statutory Clearances have been obtained. All 1651 utilities have been shifted. The delay in land acquisition in the State of Maharashtra has impacted the project till 2021. The land acquisition picked up in 2022 in Maharashtra. Page 1 of 4 §The progress of various major items so far is as under: Item Progress Piers 452 kms. Girder 356 kms. Track Bed 209 kms. OHE Masts 190 kms. The progress of stations is given below:- S.No. Station Status 1 Sabarmati Foundation & structural works completed. Finishing work have been taken up. 2 Amdavad Structural works completed. Finishing works and track works have been taken up. 3 Anand/Nadiad 4 Vadodara Foundation & structural works completed. Finishing work have been taken up. 5 Bharuch Structural works completed and finishing 6 Surat works have been taken up. At Surat, Bilimora 7 Bilimora and Bharuch Track works have also been taken up. 8 Vapi 9 Boisar Foundation works have been taken up and in advanced stage. Structural works have been 10 Virar taken up. 11 Thane 12 BKC (Mumbai) This is an underground station. Foundation works almost completed and Base Slab has been taken up. The progress on the River Bridges is as under:- S. No. River Name Status 1 Sabarmati River (480m) Sub-Structure work completed, Superstructure work has been taken up. 2 Meshwa River (120m) Bridge construction completed. Track works completed and OHE works have 3 Vatrak River (280m) been taken up at Mohar River. Track works 4 Mohar (Shedhi) River in progress at Vatrak River. (160m) Page 2 of 45 Mahi River (720m) Foundation completed. Pier works and Girder launching have been taken up. 6 Vishwamitri River (80m) Bridge construction completed. 7 Dhadhar River (120m) 8 Narmada River (1366m) 21 out of 25 wells completed; 6 out of 24 spans launched 9 Kim River (120m) Bridge construction completed. 10 Tapi River (720m) 09 out of 13 Pier Cap completed. 11 Mindhola River (240m) 12 Purna River (360m) 13 Ambika River (200m) 14 Venganiya River (200m) 15 Kaveri River (120m) 16 Kharera River (120m) Bridge construction completed. Track and 17 Auranga River (320m) Electrical works have been taken up. 18 Par River (320m) 19 Kolak River (160m) 20 Daman Ganga River (360m) 21 Darotha River (80m) 22 Jagani River (360m) Substructure works have been completed. 23 Vaitarna River (2320m) 17 Pile Cap and 15 Pier (out of 58) completed. 24 Ulhas River Branch Temporary Access Bridge (TAB) completed (120m) to start the foundation work. 25 Desai Khadi River Geo-technical Investigation (GTI) has been Bridge (400m) completed and Design work has been taken up. The work of the under-sea tunnel (approximately 21 km) has commenced, out of which 4.8 km of tunnel between Ghansoli and Shilphata in Maharashtra has been completed. On the Surat–Vapi section (97 km) entire civil works including river bridge construction, have been completed and 86% of the track bed has been laid. Page 3 of 4To strengthen national transport infrastructure, provide a fillip to regional connectivity, economic growth, tourism, investment and employment generation, and encourage modal shift from road and air transport to rail, the Government has announced the development of the following seven new High-Speed Rail (HSR) corridors in the Union Budget 2026-27:- (i) Mumbai–Pune (ii) Pune–Hyderabad (iii) Hyderabad–Bengaluru (iv) Hyderabad–Chennai (v) Chennai–Bengaluru (vi) Delhi–Varanasi (vii) Varanasi–Siliguri Post Budget announcement, the cost updation, alignment finalization & land survey etc. have been taken up in Detailed Project Report (DPR). The details of the stations/cities covered, investment, route length etc. can be firmed up only after DPR is finalised. However, being highly capital intensive, the decision to sanction any HSR Corridor/Project depends on many factors such as outcome of DPR, techno economic feasibility studies and availability of resources such as financing options etc. ***** Page 4 of 4