**Executive Summary**
On April 1, 2026, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw updated the Lok Sabha on key infrastructure developments in Maharashtra, including the completion of the 109 km Phaltan–Pandharpur rail line survey and the operationalization of the Marathwada Rail Coach Factory. The report details the manufacturing of 120 Vande Bharat trainsets, ongoing modernization at Hingoli Deccan station, and technical constraints preventing EMU services between Nashik and Kalyan. Project timelines remain dependent on upcoming appraisals and approvals from NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **New Rail Line Infrastructure**
* The survey for the 109 km Phaltan – Pandharpur New Line Project is complete, and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared.
* Sanctioning requires further consultation with State Governments and formal approvals from NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance.
* **Indigenous Manufacturing and MRCF, Latur**
* The Marathwada Rail Coach Factory (MRCF) was established in Latur at a cost of Rs. 685.79 Cr to enhance indigenous manufacturing.
* The factory has commenced the production of 120 Vande Bharat trainsets in collaboration with a technology partner.
* **Training and Skill Development**
* Structured training modules for employees cover fabrication, welding, bogie systems, and electrical components.
* Apprenticeship Training Programmes are active across production units and workshops under the Apprentices Act, 1961, focusing on trades like fitter, welder, and electrician.
* **Operational Constraints: Nashik Road to Kalyan**
* EMU (local) train services cannot operate between Nashik and Kalyan due to dimensional limitations in tunnels within the Kasara-Igatpuri and Karjat-Lonavala ghat sections.
* The sector is currently served by 67 pairs of express and passenger train services.
* **Station Modernization at Hingoli Deccan**
* Platform shelter and surface improvements for platform no. 2 are complete.
* Current works include a new station building, a 12 m Foot Over Bridge, lift installation, and improvements to platform no. 1.
* The station currently handles 38 train services providing multi-city connectivity.
**Impact Analysis**
**Indian Railways Personnel and Apprentices**
**Impact**
Employees and trainees gain access to systematic skill development and specialized manufacturing exposure.
**Action Required**
Concerned employees must undergo training as per the detailed modules; apprentices must enroll through various units under the Apprentices Act, 1961.
**State Government of Maharashtra**
**Impact**
The state is a primary consultant in the sanctioning of new regional rail lines.
**Action Required**
Must engage in consultations and provide necessary support for the appraisal of the Phaltan – Pandharpur project.
**NITI Aayog and Ministry of Finance**
**Impact**
These bodies act as the final approval authority for the project's financial and technical feasibility.
**Action Required**
Review the prepared DPR and provide necessary appraisals to move the project from the survey stage to the sanctioning stage.
**Rail Passengers in Maharashtra**
**Impact**
Commuters in Hingoli will experience improved station facilities, while Nashik-Kalyan commuters must continue utilizing long-distance services due to the lack of EMU feasibility.
**Action Required**
Utilize existing express services (67 pairs in the Nashik-Kalyan sector) and updated station infrastructure at Hingoli Deccan.
Key Entities Referenced
Marathwada Rail Coach Factory (MRCF), Latur: An indigenous coach manufacturing facility established by Indian Railways to produce modern trainsets and enhance manufacturing capacity.
Vande Bharat: Indigenous trainsets, with 120 units designated for manufacture at the Marathwada Rail Coach Factory through a technology partner.
Phaltan – Pandharpur New Line Project: A 109 km railway infrastructure project for which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared following a completed survey.
Ashwini Vaishnaw: The Minister of Railways who provided updates to the Lok Sabha regarding railway infrastructure, projects, and services in Maharashtra.
Apprentices Act, 1961: The legislative provision under which Indian Railways conducts apprenticeship training programs for skill development in technical trades.
Ministry of Railways
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Updates Lok
Sabha on Railway Projects in Maharashtra
Indian Railways has set up Marathwada Rail Coach Factory
(MRCF) at Latur
Survey for Phaltan – Pandharpur 109 km New Rail Line
Project Completed
Posted On: 01 APR 2026 4:59PM by PIB Mumbai
: Mumbai, April 01, 2026
In a written reply to unstarred questions in the Lok Sabha, the Minister of Railways,
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw provided updates regarding the railway infrastructure in
Maharashtra. The Union Minister stated that the Survey for Phaltan – Pandharpur
New Line Project (109 Km) has been completed and Detailed Project Report (DPR)
has been prepared.
After the preparation of the DPR, the sanctioning of the project requires consultation
with various stakeholders, including State Governments, and necessary approvals
such as appraisals from NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance. As the sanctioning
of projects is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines depend upon these
appraisals and approvals.
In order to enhance indigenous coach manufacturing capacity to meet the growing
demand for modern trains, Indian Railways has set up at Marathwada Rail Coach
Factory (MRCF), Latur, Maharashtra at a cost of Rs. 685.79 Cr. The manufacture of
120 nos. Vande Bharat trainsets have been taken up at MRCF, Latur through
Technology Partner.
Further, with a view to ensure structured and systematic training on coach
manufacturing, concerned employees are provided training as per detailed training
modules which cover various aspects relevant to that field. The modules include
exposure to fabrication techniques, welding processes, bogie systems, electrical etc.
required for coach production.
Besides, Indian Railways also conducts Apprenticeship Training Programme at its
various units like Production Units, Workshops, Loco Sheds, Carriage and Wagon
Depots etc under the provisions of Apprentices Act, 1961, which also contributes to
skill development in trades such as fitter, welder, electrician and machinist.TRAIN SERVICES BETWEEN NASHIK ROAD AND KALYAN:
As a response to the details of difficulties in starting EMU/automated closing door
train sets between Nashik and Kalyan; the minister stated that, the width of the
EMU stock (local trains in the area) is more than other rolling stock of passenger
trains. There are dimensional limitations in tunnels on Kasara-Igatpuri ghat section
and Karjat-Lonavala section due to which, operation of EMU local trains is not
possible in these sections at present.
At present, Nasik Road-Kalyan sector is served by following 67 pairs of train
services:SN Train No. & Name
1 11001/11002 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Balharshah Express
2 11011/11012 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Dhule Express
3 11015/11016 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Saharsa Amrit Bharat Express
4 11031/11032 Panvel-Alipur Duar Amrit Bharat Express
5 11055/11056 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Gonda Godan Express
6 11057/11058 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Amritsar Express
7 11059/11060 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Chhapra Express
8 11061/11062 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Jaynagar Express
9 11071/11072 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Ballia Kamayani Express
10 11079/11080 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Gorakhpur Express
11 11081/11082 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Gorakhpur Express
12 12071/12072 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Hingoli Deccan Jan
Shatabdi Express
13 12105/12106 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Gondia Vidarbha Express
14 12107/12108 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Sitapur Express
15 12109/12110 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Manmad Panchavati
Express
16 12111/12112 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Amravati Express
17 12131/12132 Dadar-Sainagar Shirdi Express
18 12137/12138 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Firozpur Cantt. Punjab Mail
19 12139/12140 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Nagpur Sewagram Express
20 12141/12142 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Patliputra Express21 12145/12146 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Puri Express
22 12151/12152 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Shalimar Samarsata Express
23 12161/12162 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Agra Cantt. Lashkar Express
24 12165/12166 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Gorakhpur Express
25 12167/12168 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Banaras Express
26 12171/12172 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Haridwar Express
27 12173/12174 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Maa Belha Devi Dham Pratapgarh
Express
28 12187/12188 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Jabalpur Garib Rath
Express
29 12321/12322 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Howrah Kolkata Mail
30 12335/12336 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Bhagalpur Express
31 12533/12534 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Gomti Nagar Pushpak
Express
32 12617/12618 Ernakulam-Hazrat Nizamuddin Mangala Lakshadweep
Express
33 12741/12742 Vasco-da-Gama-Patna Express
34 12809/12810 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Howrah Express
35 12811/12812 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Hatia Express
36 12859/12860 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Howrah Gitanjali Express
37 12869/12870 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Howrah Express
38 12879/12880 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Bhubaneswar Express
39 13201/13202 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Rajgir Express
40 14313/14314 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Bareilly Express41 15017/15018 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Gorakhpur Kashi Express
42 15065/15066 Panvel-Gorakhpur Express
43 15181/15182 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Mau Express
44 15267/15268 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Raxaul Antyoday Express
45 15647/15648 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Guwahati Express
46 15659/15660 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Agartala Express
47 15945/15946 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Dibrugarh Express
48 17057/17058 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Lingampalli Devagiri
Express
49 17611/17612 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Nanded Express
50 17617/17618 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Nanded Tapovan Express
51 18029/18030 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Shalimar Express
52 18609/18610 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Ranchi Express
53 20705/20706 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Nanded Vande Bharat
Express
54 22103/22104 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Ayodhya Cantt. Express
55 22109/22110 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Balharshah Express
56 22121/22122 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Lucknow Express
57 22129/22130 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Ayodhya Cantt. Tulsi Express
58 22147/22148 Dadar-Sainagar Shirdi Express
59 22177/22178 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Banaras Mahanagari
Express
60 22183/22184 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Ayodhya Cantt. Express61 22221/22222 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Hazrat Nizamuddin
Rajdhani Express
62 22223/22224 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T)-Sainagar Shirdi Vande
Bharat Express
63 22311/22312 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Godda Express
64 22357/22358 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Gaya Express
65 22537/22538 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Gorakhpur Kushinagar Express
66 22583/22584 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Chhapra Antyoday Express
67 22847/22848 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Visakhapatnam Express
Similarly, Kasara-Kalyan-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj(T) sector is served by 36
Suburban train services.
MODERNISATION AT HINGOLI DECCAN STATION:
In reply to the unstarred question about the railway infrastructure in the Hingoli
district of Maharashtra, the minister stated that at the Hingoli Deccan station, the
works of platform shelter and improvement
of platform surface of platform no. 2 have been completed. The works of new
station building, improvement of existing station building, platform surface of
platform no. 1, lift and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
Currently, Hingoli Deccan is served by 38 train services providing connectivity inter
alia to Mumbai, Pune, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Jaipur. Presently, Hingoli
Deccan is connected to Mumbai by the daily service of 12071/12072 Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj (T) -Hingoli Deccan Jan Shatabdi Express and to Pune by the bi-
weekly service of 11405/06 Pune- Amravati Express. The list of trains serving
Hingoli Deccan station is as under:
SN Train No & Name
1 11403 Nagpur -Kolhapur Express
2 11404 Kolhapur-Nagpur Express
3 11405 Pune-Amravati Express4 11406 Amravati-Pune Express
5 12071 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) -Hingoli Deccan Express
6 12072 Hingoli Deccan-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Express
7 12421 Nanded-Amritsar Express
8 12422 Amritsar-Nanded Express
9 12439 Nanded-Shri Ganganagar Express
10 12440 Sri Ganganagar-Nanded Express
11 12485 Nanded-Shri Ganganagar Express
12 12486 Sri Ganganagar-Nanded Express
13 12719 Jaipur -Hyderabad Express
14 12720 Hyderabad-Jaipur Express
15 12751 Nanded-Jammu Tawi Express
16 12752 Jammu Tawi -Nanded Express
17 12765 Tirupati-Amravati Express
18 12766 Amravati-Tirupati Express
19 17605 Kacheguda-Bhagat Ki Kothi Express
20 17606 Bhagat Ki Kothi-Kacheguda Express
21 17639 Kacheguda-Akola Express
22 17640 Akola -Kacheguda Express
23 17641 Kacheguda-Narkher Express
24 17642 Narkher-Kacheguda Express
25 17683 Akola -Purna Express26 17684 Purna -Akola Express
27 19301 Dr. Ambedkar Nagar -Yesvantpur Express
28 19302 Yesvantpur - Dr. Ambedkar Nagar Express
29 19713 Jaipur -Kurnool City Express
30 19714 Kurnool City-Jaipur Express
31 22709 Nanded-Amb Andaura Express
32 22710 Amb Andaura-Nanded Express
33 22723 Nanded-Shri Ganganagar Express
34 22724 Shri Ganganagar-Nanded Express
35 57655 Parli Vaijnath-Akola Passenger
36 57656 Akola -Purna Passenger
37 77613 Purna -Akola DMU
38 77614 Akola -Parli Vaijnath DMU
Further, proposals/ requests/ suggestions/ representations, both formal and
informal inter alia for introduction of trains, extension of existing trains, or increase
in frequency of trains, Railway projects/works across the country are received from
Members of Parliament, elected representatives, organizations/rail users etc. at
various levels including Railway Board, Zonal Railways, Divisional Offices etc. As
receipt of such proposals/ requests/ suggestions is a continuous and dynamic
process, centralized compendium of such requests is not maintained. However,
these are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to
time.
This information also was stated by the Minister of Railways, Information &
Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in the
Lok Sabha today.
***
Sriyanka Chatterjee / Yash Rané/Parshuram KorFollow us on social media: @PIBMumbai /PIBMumbai /pibmumbai pibmumbai[at]gmail[dot]co
m
(Release ID: 2247816) Visitor Counter : 137
Read this release in: Marathi