Parliament Question: Role of Railways in Economic Growth

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3936 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026 ROLE OF RAILWAYS IN ECONOMIC GROWTH 3936. SHRI BAIJAYANT PANDA: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the role played by Indian Railways in supporting economic growth through increased capital expenditure, freight capacity augmentation and logistics efficiency as outlined in PIB statements and official briefings; (b) the details of the contribution of major Railway projects and manufacturing initiatives including indigenous production of locomotives and coaches towards employment generation and “Make in India”; and (c) the manner in which ongoing Railway investments are aligned with the Government’s broader objectives of infrastructure-led development and regional connectivity? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c) Contribution of Indian Railways to India's economy is significant, considering its role as a major mode of transportation of passengers and cargo in the country. Besides, being one of the largest employers in the world, Railway supports a range of industries, specifically manufacturing, construction, and services. The Indian Railway has taken several measures during the last few years to support economic growth by enhancing freight loading, capital expenditure and logistic efficiency. Freight loading since 2014 is as below: § Page 1 of 9Year Freight loading (in Million Tonnes) 2014-15 1098 2015-16 1104 2016-17 1109 2017-18 1162 2018-19 1223 2019-20 1210 2020-21 1233 2021-22 1418 2022-23 1512 2023-24 1591 2024-25 1617 2025-26 1670 1800 1670 1591 1600 1418 1617 1400 1512 1210 1162 1200 1104 1223 1233 1000 1098 1109 The freight loading of Indian Railways has increased to 1,670 MT in 2025- 26 thus IR has become the second largest freight carrying Railways in the world. Budget allocation and Network Expansion: The Budget allocation has been increased from ₹29,055 Cr in 2013-14 to ₹2,78,030 Cr in 2026-27. Capacity Page 2 of 9 51-4102 61-5102 71-6102 81-7102 91-8102 02-9102 12-0202 22-1202 32-2202 42-3202 52-4202 62-5202 Freight loading (in Million Tonnes)enhancement of railway network has been taken up by Indian Railways in a big way during last 12 years. The details of commissioning/laying of new track across Indian Railways is given below:- Period New track Commissioned Average commissioning of new tracks 2009-14 7,599 Km 4.2 Km/day 2014-26 36,429 Km 8.32 Km/day (nearly 2 times) As on 01.04.2026, across Indian Railways, 514 Railway infrastructure projects (169 New Line, 29 Gauge Conversion and 316 Doubling) of total length 40,000 Km, costing approx. ₹8.31 lakh crore are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Length Total Exp. Upto No. of Total Length Category Commissioned till Mar'26 (₹in Projects NL/GC/DL(km) Mar'26(km) Crore) New lines 169 16,634 3,361 1,57,572 Gauge 29 3987 3,045 24,227 conversion Doubling 316 19,379 6,177 1,23,454 Total 514 40,000 12,583 3,05,253 Amrit Bharat Station Scheme: Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach. This 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 Page 3 of 9 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. So far, the redevelopment of 261 stations has been completed. Dedicated Freight Corridor Project: Ministry of Railways had taken up the construction of two Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) viz. Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) from Ludhiana to Sonnagar (1337 Km) and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri (1506 Km). The work on both EDFC and WDFC has been completed and commissioned. On average, about 443 trains are operated per day on DFCs. The Dedicated Freight Corridors have demonstrated robust operational performance. Freight volumes have steadily increased, with higher average speeds, faster turnarounds, and enhanced reliability. DFC has contributed to creating additional paths on the conventional network by diverting freight traffic to EDFC and WDFC. As a result, Railways have been able to run Page 4 of 9additional goods and coaching services over its network. The Dedicated Freight Corridor project is expected to strengthen the competitiveness of rail transport by enabling cost-effective, efficient and sustainable freight movement across the country. It is envisaged to facilitate a gradual modal shift of long-haul bulk commodities, container traffic and industrial freight from road to rail, thereby reducing overall logistics costs, improving supply chain efficiency and supporting economic growth. Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project has positive impact on transportation and logistics sector as it enabled enhanced movement of Double Stack Container (DSC) trains, higher axle load trains, faster access of northern hinterland by Western Ports and development of new terminals/linkages with industries along the DFC. The Eastern DFC mostly caters to mineral traffic from Eastern India. These developments enabled reduction in logistic cost. A new Dedicated Freight Corridor connecting Dankuni in East to Surat in West has been announced in the Union Budget 2026. The work of preparation/updation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this corridor has been completed and presently under process. Railway Electrification: Electrification of railway network on Indian Railways has been taken up in mission mode. So far, about 99.6% of the Broad Gauge (BG) network has been electrified. The electrification in the remaining network has been taken up. Electrification carried out during 2014-26 and before 2014 is as under: Period Route Kilometer Before 2014 (about 60 years) 21,801 2014-26 48,072 Page 5 of 9Further, all new line/multi-tracking projects are being sanctioned and constructed with electrification. Freight Capacity Augmentation Initiatives: For strengthening freight logistics, regional connectivity and to increase the freight movement share of Railways, Indian Railways has implemented a multi-pronged strategy to enhance freight efficiency, ensure seamless regional connectivity, and provide robust first and last-mile solutions. The key initiatives are categorized below – (i) Terminal Development - For encouraging setting up of cargo terminals through private investment, 'Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT)' policy has been launched. Location of the GCTs is decided on the basis of demand from industry, potential of Cargo traffic, availability of railway infrastructure and overall logistics potential of the area. So far, 142 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCTs) have been commissioned with an estimated freight handling capacity of 224 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The policy has mobilized private investment of approximately ₹10,000 crore through these GCTs. Freight handled at these GCTs during 2025-26 is 146 MT. (ii) Wagon Investment Schemes: Indian Railway has already implemented various schemes for private sector to invest in wagons including the commodity focused specialized wagons such as wagons for cement, oil, steel, fly-ash etc. So far, around 275 rakes of special purpose wagons and 397 rakes of general-purpose wagons are operational, which are expected to improve modal share in commodities like bulk cement, fly-ash, steel products, iron ores and coal etc. Besides, there is a separate scheme for transportation of automobiles under which around 54 rakes owned by industry are operational. Page 6 of 9(iii) Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service (JPP-RCS) scheme: This scheme offers tailor-made logistics to meet specific needs of the customer and provide door-to-door parcel services. Under the scheme, provision has been made for online booking of parcel space in these services through Aggregators (in addition to India Post) on 'Virtual Aggregation Platform (VAP). (iv) CONCOR, a PSU under Ministry of Railways is also providing Door-to- Door parcel services by utilizing the JPP-RCS over Delhi-Kolkata and Mumbai-Kolkata sectors. CONCOR is also providing Door-to-Door logistics under a pilot project at Sonik Goods shed. Mumbai-Amdavad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project: 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. Make in India initiatives: The initiatives taken by Indian Railways for ensuring safe, reliable, comfortable & quality rail travel include development & manufacture of new age rolling stock such as Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat trains etc. These modern rolling stock variants are planned for manufacturing as a part of Make in India initiative in the different Production Units of Indian Railways. Page 7 of 9Presently, the 81 pairs of Vande Bharat train services (Chair Car) and 01 pairs of Vande Bharat train services (Sleeper Car) are being operated on the Indian Railways network. Presently, 36 pairs of Amrit Bharat Express services are being operated on the Indian Railways network. In line with the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives, Indian Railways is promoting indigenous manufacturing of high-speed rail systems and components to reduce import dependence. Building on the success of Vande Bharat, Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in collaboration with M/s Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) is designing and manufacturing high-speed train sets with a design speed of 280 kmph. Alongside high-speed systems, Indian Railways already possesses strong indigenous manufacturing capabilities, with Electric and Diesel locomotives being produced by its Production Units, namely Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), Chittaranjan; Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), Varanasi; and Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW), Patiala which strengthen India’s self reliance in advanced rail technologies. Over the past decade, India has developed a strong and diversified railway manufacturing eco-system comprising of Indian Railways’ Production Units and Industry base. Presently, Industry manufactures almost the entire range of railway rolling stocks such as locomotives, passenger coaches, wagons and critical components such as Traction motors, Gear Boxes, Motorized Bogies, Traction transformers, Metro cars, Propulsion system, Traction and Auxillary converters, Cable harness, Electronic cards, Magnetics etc. in India. These items are exported to both developed as well as developing countries such as Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, USA, France, Page 8 of 9Germany, Mozambique, Mexico, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Romania, Spain and Italy etc. With this supportive eco-system in place, during 2016-17 to 2025-26 (upto January 2026), total value of exports in Railway sector from India has reached US$ 3355 Million (~₹26,000 cr.). Indian Railways is undertaking continuous efforts to strengthen rail connectivity across the country through an unprecedented programme of network expansion, including new line, doubling and multi-tracking projects, under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. These initiatives are aimed at improving connectivity, reducing logistics costs and supporting balanced regional development. As a result of these sustained efforts, the capitals of four North Eastern States, Mizoram (Sairang/Aizwal), Tripura (Agartala), Arunachal Pradesh (Naharlagun/Itanagar) and Assam (Dispur/Guwahati) have been connected to the Broad Gauge rail network. Further, with the commissioning of the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), the Kashmir Valley has also been connected to the national rail network and train services are operational. ***** Page 9 of 9