Lok Sabha Question No. 470 (STARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Construction of Level Crossings and Bridges
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: REKHA ARUN VERMA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 470 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2018

## CONSTRUCTION OF LEVEL CROSSINGS AND BRIDGES

- †*470.    SHRIMATI REKHA VERMA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :

- (a) whether  the  construction  work  of  various  manned/unmanned  level crossings, railway over bridges and railway under bridges has been delayed across the country during the last three years;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof,  zone-wise  along  with  the  present  status  of the said level crossings/bridges;
- (c) whether the construction cost of the said level crossings/bridges has been increased during the said period due to delay in their construction;
- (d) if so, the details thereof, zone-wise; and
- (e) the  number and the details of such level crossings/bridges for which construction  cost  has  been  shared  with  the  concerned  State  or  private company, zone-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COAL

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 470 BY SHRIMATI REKHA VERMA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK  SABHA  ON  28.03.2018  REGARDING  CONSTRUCTION  OF  LEVEL CROSSINGS AND BRIDGES

(a)  to  (e):  No  Madam.    No  new  manned/unmanned  level  crossings  are being permitted for construction on existing lines as level crossings are a potential  safety  hazard  for  both  road  and  rail  users,  more  so  for  road users.    Hence,  question  of  delay  for  construction  of  manned/unmanned level crossings does not arise.

Road Over Bridges/Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) are constructed in lieu of level crossings on cost sharing basis with State Govt. In few cases ROBs/RUBs are constructed on the request of State Government at their cost  on  deposit  term  basis,  where  level  crossings  are  not  present. Normally,  Railway  undertakes  construction  of  ROBs/RUBs  in  Railway portion  whereas  approaches  are  being  constructed  by  State  Govt. Generally, there is no problem of construction of ROBs/RUBs in Railway portion.  However,  construction  of  ROBs/RUBs  on  approaches  depends upon many factors such as availability of land, removal of encroachments, fixing the alignment of approaches, allocation of requisite funds etc. Therefore, it is not possible to fix the time schedule for construction of ROBs/RUBs projects.

However,  Railways  has  taken  following  pro-active  measures  in  close coordination  with  various  stakeholders  to  enhance  the  progress  of construction of ROBs/RUBs in replacement of busy level crossings which are as under:

· joint survey with all concerned including State Government to finalise the tentative General Arrangement Drawing (GAD).

- standardization of drawings  for various spans  to avoid delay in designing.
- nomination of nodal officer for  each State for single window clearance of GAD from Railway side.
- commission of a web-based application with user-friendly features for online submission and approval of various plans and drawings related to ROBs/RUBs  of  National  Highway  Authority  of  India/Ministry  of  Road Transport and Highways (NHAI/MoRTH).
- signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Ministry of Railways  and  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  and  Highways  (MoRTH)  to eliminate all level crossings on National Highway Corridors by MORTH by construction of ROBs/RUBs at their own cost.
- Also, memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and Government of Maharashtra for construction of ROBs in their State by Government of Maharashtra on 28.12.2017. This MOU is first of its kind and expected that progress of construction of ROB  in State of Maharashtra  will  improve.  All  State  Govt.  has  also  been  advised  by Ministry of Railways to come forward to sign similar MOU as signed with State Government of Maharashtra.

By  taking  pro-active  measures  in  last  4  years  (2014-15  to  2017-18) average  1162  ROBs/RUBs  have  been  constructed  as  compared  to  762 ROBs/RUBs constructed in period of 5 years i.e. 2009-10 to 2013-14.

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