Lok Sabha Question No. 616 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Expansion of Railway Infrastructure
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Rita Bahuguna Joshi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 616 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## EXPANSION OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

616.  SHRIMATI RITA BAHUGUNA JOSHI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether the Government is aware about the significant increase in the number of passengers commuting by the railways;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  ways  envisioned  for expansion of railway infrastructure for catering to  the needs of passengers; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government for meeting the needs of the freight traffic?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

( SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

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

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  616  BY  SHRIMATI  RITA  BAHUGUNA JOSHI TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 20.11.2019 REGARDING EXPANSION OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE.

(a): Yes,  Sir.

(b)  &  (c):  (i)  Number  of  Passengers  carried  over  Indian  Railways  on originating basis over the last four years are as follows:-

No. of Passengers

| Year    |   No. of Passengers (in Crore) | Absolute increase (in Crore) over preceding year   | %age increase   |
|---------|--------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|-----------------|
| 2015-16 |                            811 |                                                    |                 |
| 2016-17 |                            812 | 01                                                 | 0.12            |
| 2017-18 |                            829 | 17                                                 | 2.09            |
| 2018-19 |                            844 | 15                                                 | 1.81            |

(ii) Over Indian Railways, stations are categorized based on earnings  of  station  and  number  of  passengers  handled.  Accordingly Railways plans and charts the way forward for augmentation/improvement of minimum essential, desirable and recommended passenger amenities based on priority of works, need subject  to  availability  of  funds.    This  is  a  continuous  and  ongoing process.

In order to increase the carrying capacity of passengers and ensure meeting the needs of the freight traffic over Indian Railways Network System,  247  Doubling,  189  New  Line,  522  Traffic  Facilities  and  55 Gauge Conversion works have been sanctioned.  All these works are in various stages of execution.

The measures taken by Indian Railways to meet the needs of the freight  traffic  include  schemes  such  as  General  Purpose  Wagon Investment  Scheme  (GPWIS),  Liberalized  Wagon  Investment  Scheme (LWIS), Special Freight Train Operator (SFTO) and Automobile Freight Train Operator Scheme (AFTO).

In addition, Dedicated Freight Corridors on East and West sides are also  sanctioned.  Indian    Railways  has  taken  up  construction  of  two Dedicated  Freight  Corridors  (DFC)    viz.  Eastern  Dedicated  Freight Corridor  (EDFC)  from  Dankuni  to  Ludhiana  (1318  Kms  Ludhiana  to Sonnagar  +  538  Kms  Sonnagar  to  Dankuni)  and  Western  Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri (1504 Kms). Both the corridors are targeted for commissioning in phases to be completed by December 2021.  These corridors will enable faster and heavier freight train movement as well as  segregation  of  passenger  and  freight  traffic  along  the  routes. Accordingly it will result in released capacity on the existing routes for improvement in passenger services.

Government  has  also  sanctioned  508  km  Mumbai  Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (MAHSR) being executed with technical and financial assistance of Government of Japan.

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