Lok Sabha Question No. 5640 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-06
Subject: Development of Railway Infrastructure in Tami Nadu
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dayanidhi Maran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5640 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.04.2022

## DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE IN TAMIL NADU

5640.   SHRI DAYANIDHI MARAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  current  projects  underway  for  the  development  of  railway infrastructure in Tamil Nadu;
- (b) the  total  allocation  of  budget  towards  developing  Railways  in Tamil Nadu along with the projects proposed and the total funds allocated, expected project outcomes and the year of completion;
- (c) the  steps  that  are  being  taken  to  ensure  better  safety  and amenities at railway stations in Tamil Nadu;
- (d) the total budget allocated for Railways along with the break up of fund allocation for Southern and Northern Railways; and
- (e) the  itemized  fund  allocation  as  per  the  budget  for  the  various Zones?

ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(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.  5640  BY  SHRI  DAYANIDHI  MARAN  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 06.04.2022 REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE IN TAMIL NADU

(a),  (b),  (d)  and  (e):  Railway  projects  are  sanctioned  Zonal  Railway-wise and  not  State-wise  as  the  Railway's  projects  may  span  across  State boundaries. However, as on 01.04.2021, 25 projects (09 new line, 4 Gauge conversion  and  12  doubling)  of  total  length  3,077  Km,  costing ` 28,307 crore  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu  are  under  different stages of planning/approval/execution. These include:-

-  9 New Line Projects of total length 871 km at a cost of ` 7,910 crore, out  of  which  an  expenditure  of ` 575  crore  has  been  incurred  upto March 2021.
-  4 Gauge Conversion Project of total length 839 km at a cost of ` 5,838 crore, out of  which 604 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 2,972 crore has been incurred upto March 2021.
-  12  Doubling  Projects  of  total  length  1,367  km  at  a  cost  of ` 14,559 crore, out of  which 246 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 3,299 crore has been incurred upto March 2021.

Railway  projects  in  Tamil  Nadu  are  covered  by  Southern  Railway (SR), South Central Railway (SCR) and South Western Railway (SWR) zone of Indian Railway. The zone-wise, project-wise details of projects including  cost,  expenditure  and  outlay  are  made  available  in  public domain on Indian Railways website i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in >Ministry  of  Railways  >Railway  Board  >About  Indian  Railways  >Railway Board  Directorates  >Finance  (Budget)>  Rail  Budget/Pink  Book  (Year)> Railway wise Works Machinery and Rolling Stock Programme.

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in budget outlay for infrastructure projects and safety works and commensurate commissioning.  Average  annual  Budget  allocation  for  Infrastructure  and Safety works, falling fully/ partly  in  State  of  Tamil  Nadu, during  2014-19 has been enhanced to ` 1,979 crore  per  year  from ` 879 crore  per  year during    2009-14,    which    is    125%  more    than  average    annual  budget outlay of 2009-14.  Budget allocation for these project for financial year 2019-20 has been ` 2,410 crore (174% more than average annual allocation of 2009-14) and ` 2,812 crore for financial year 2020-21 (220% more than average annual budget allocation of 2009-14). For financial year 2021-22, highest  ever  budget  outlay  of ` 3,730  crore  has  been  provided  for  these works, which is 324% more than average annual budget outlay of 2009-14.

During 2014-21, 996 km sections (404 Km of Gauge Conversion and 592  Km  of  Doubling)  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu  have been commissioned at an average rate 142.29 Km per year.

The completion of any Railway project(s) depends on various factors like  quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest  clearance  by officials  of  forest  department,  deposition  of  cost  share  by  cost  sharing authority in cost sharing project(s), shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, court cases, geological and topographical  conditions  of  area,  law  and  order  situation  in  the  area  of project(s) site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due  to climatic conditions etc. All these factors affect the completion time of the project(s). As such, confirmed completion time of project(s) cannot be ascertained at this stage. Nevertheless, every effort is being made to execute the project(s) expeditiously.

(c):    Maintenance/improvement  of  Railway  Stations  is  an  ongoing  and continuous  process  and  works  in  this  regard  are  undertaken  as  per requirement and subject to inter-se priority and availability of funds.

The State of Tamil Nadu is covered under Southern Railway, South Central  Railway  and  South  Western  Railway.  Following  steps  are  being taken to ensure better safety of track.

Modern  track  structure  consisting  of  60  Kg,  90  Ultimate  Tensile Strength  (UTS)  rails,  Prestressed  Concrete  Sleeper  (PSC)  Normal/Wide base  sleepers  with  elastic  fastening,  fanshaped  layout  turnout  on  PSC sleepers, Steel Channel/H-beam Sleepers on girder bridges is used, while carrying out primary track renewals.

Long rail panels of 260 M/130M length are being manufactured at the steel plant to minimize number of Alumino Thermit joints in the track.

Patrolling of railway tracks is done to look out for weld/rail fractures for ensuring safety.

Ultrasonic Flaw Detection (USFD) testing of rails to detect flaws and timely removal of defective rails.

Mechanization of track maintenance is being carried out to reduce human errors.

Track management system has been introduced on Indian Railways for development of database and decision support system and to decide rationalize maintenance requirement and optimize inputs.

Inspections  at  regular  intervals  are  carried  out  to  monitor  and educate staff for observance of safe practices.

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