Lok Sabha Question No. 2702 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Railway Projects Delayed Due to Corona Pandemic
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Prataprao Govindrao  Patil Chikhalikar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2702 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2021

## RAILWAY PROJECTS DELAYED DUE TO CORONA PANDEMIC

 2702. SHRI PRATAPRAO PATIL CHIKHLIKAR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Railways has incurred economic losses due to corona pandemic;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  to  compensate  the losses incurred by Railway;
- (d) whether the execution of railway projects have been delayed/cancelled due to corona pandemic; and
- (e)  if  so,  the  State-wise  details  of  the  railway  projects  affected  in  the country particularly in Uttarakhand?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(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 UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2702 BY SHRI PRATAPRAO PATIL CHIKHLIKAR TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 10.03.2021 REGARDING RAILWAY PROJECTS DELAYED DUE TO CORONA PANDEMIC.

(a)  to  (c):  Yes,  Sir.  Due  to  the  adverse  impact  of  COVID  19  pandemic, consequential lockdown and partial operation of passenger services, total traffic  revenue  of  Railways  to  end  of  January,  2021  have  declined  by ` 36,918.86 crore compared to corresponding period of last year (COPPY). The  decline  is ` 34,750.51  crore  in  passenger, ` 2427.25  crore  in  other coaching  and ` 298.27  crore  in  sundry  other  revenue  during  the  said period compared to COPPY.

Though the revenue receipts position has gradually improved in the post lock  down  phase,  Railways  have  assessed  a  resource  gap  of  around ` 51,000 cr in Revised Estimates 2020-21. Considering the need to provide adequate  budgetary  support  for  incurring  inevitable  expenditure,  the Government  has  provided  a  Special  Loan  to  Railways  for  Covid  related resource gap.

The Ministry has been taking measures on a continuing basis to improve the  financial  position.  Apart  from  restoring  passenger  services  on  a progressive  basis  in  the  current  year,  the  endeavour  comprises  of  a combination  of  initiatives  aimed  at  maximizing  revenue  receipts  and minimizing controllable revenue expenses. Revenue enhancing measures, inter alia, include targeting progressively higher traffic throughput, expansion  of  commodity  basket,  effective  and  innovative  marketing strategies  to  capture  more  and  more  traffic,  creation  of  additional capacity and  optimum  utilization of the existing rail infrastructure including rolling stock,  enhancement  in  productivity  and  efficiency, improvement of passenger interface, periodic rationalization of fare and freight  rates  and  focus  on  increasing  the  share  of  non-fare  revenue sources in Railways' total revenue. Expenditure control measures include strict  economy  and  austerity  measures,  improved  man-power  planning, better asset utilization, inventory management, optimizing fuel consumption etc.

(d) & (e): Due to the imposition of nationwide lockdown from 25th March' 2020 on account of COVID-19 pandemic, initially, there was a slowdown in the execution of Railway projects including critical and important projects. However, with the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, the pace  of  construction  activities  gained  momentum.  Moreover,  due  to meticulous  planning,  prioritisation  of  projects  and  focused  approach  of execution,  works  are  now  in  full  swing  and  Railways  has  been  able  to commission  1,740  Kms  length  of  New  line,  Gauge  conversion  and Doubling works during the period March' 2020 to December'2020.

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