Lok Sabha Question No. 1106 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-08
Subject: Coal connectivity Railway Projects
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Ravneet Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1106 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2023

## COAL CONNECTIVITY RAILWAY PROJECTS

1106. SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Railways proposes to sanction a large number of coal  connectivity  projects  as  part  of  its  amitious  energy corridor programme;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  total  amount  to  be allocated  for  the  programme,  State/UT-wise  especially  in  the State of Punjab;
- (c) the benefits likely to accrue to the railway commuters due to new coal connectivity projects of the Indian Railways;
- (d) whether  there  is  any  proposal  to  connect  the  small  energy corridors  with  the  Eastern  Dedicated  Freight  Corridor  (EDFC), which runs from Punjab to West Bengal to ensure timely supply of thermal coal to power houses during peak demand; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## 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. 1106  BY  SHRI  RAVNEET  SINGH  BITTU TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 08.02.2023 REGARDING COAL CONNECTIVITY RAILWAY PROJECTS

(a) and (b):   Railway  Infrastructure  Projects  are  taken  up  on  the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes,  augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socioeconomic considerations etc. depending upon liabilities of ongoing projects,  overall  availability  of  funds  and  competing  demands. Sanction of Railway infrastructure projects in areas which are not connected by Railway network including coal connectivity projects is a continuous and ongoing process of Indian Railways.

The  Railway  Infrastructure  projects  are  sanctioned  Zonal  Railway wise and not State wise/UT wise as the Railways' projects may span across  various  state  boundaries.  As  on  01.04.2022,  across  Indian Railways, 452 Railway Infrastructure projects including coal connectivity projects (183 New Line, 42 Gauge Conversion and 227 Doubling) of total length 49,323 Km, costing approx. ` 7.33 lakh crore are in different stages of planning/sanction/execution, out of which, 11,518  Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of approx. ` 2.35 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.

Zone-wise  details  of  Railway  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 (RSP).

## Punjab:

As on 01.04.2022, 12 railway projects (06 New line and 06 Doubling) of total length 1570 km, costing ` 23,810 crore, falling fully/partly in the state of Punjab are in different stages of planning/sanction/execution,  out  of  which, 159 km length has been commissioned    and  an  expenditure  of ` 4,439  crore  has  been incurred upto March, 2022.

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in Budget allocation and commensurate commissioning of Infrastructure projects. Average Annual Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects & safety works, falling fully/ partly in the State of Punjab, during  2014-19  has  been  enhanced  to ` 1,004  crore  per  year  from ` 225  crore  per  year  during  2009-14,  which  is  346%  more  than Average Annual  Budget  allocation during 2009-14. Annual Budget allocations for these projects have been increased to ` 1,095 crore in Financial Year 2019-20 (387% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation  of  2009-14), ` 1,565  crore  in    Financial    Year    2020-21 (596% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14) and ` 2,262  crore  in  Financial  Year  2021-22  (905%  more  than  the Average  Annual  Budget  allocation  of  2009-14).  For  Financial  Year 2022-23,  highest  ever  budget  outlay  of ` 3,543  crore  has  been provided for these projects, which is 1475% more than the Average Annual Budget outlay of 2009-14 ( ` 225 crore per year).

During 2014-22, 168 Km of Doubling have been commissioned in the State at an average rate of 21 km/year.

(c)  to  (e):  Development  of  Railway  Infrastructure  projects  such  as New  Line  and  Multi-tracking  projects  will  serve  as  a  crucial  link between coal producing areas and power plants located in different parts of country. The first and last mile connectivity to coal mines will  not  only  reduce  the  time  for  evacuation  of  coal,  but  will  also enhance  the  cargo  capacity  and  reduce  the burden  on  road transport. Thermal power plants of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and  other  adjoining  areas  and  coal  fields  are  connected  with Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor through feeder routes.

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