Lok Sabha Question No. 4795 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-29
Subject: Laying of New Railway Lines in Rajasthan
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Nihal Chand Chauhan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4795 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.03.2023

## LAYING OF NEW RAILWAY LINES IN RAJASTHAN

†4795. SHRI NIHAL CHAND:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Union  Government  proposes  to  lay  new  railway lines in various parts of the country including Rajasthan and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the proposals from various States regarding laying of new railway lines in the country are under consideration of the Union Government and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Union  Government  is  considering  to  lay  the Gajsinghpur-Padampur-Binjhbyla-Goluwala-Hanumangarh-Nohar railway line which was announced by the then Prime Minister in the year 1998;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) 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.  4795  BY  SHRI  NIHAL  CHAND  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 29.03.2023 REGARDING LAYING OF NEW RAILWAY LINES IN RAJASTHAN

(a): Yes, Sir. The Railway projects are surveyed/ sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise as the Railways' projects may  span  across state boundaries. As on 01.04.2022,  across  Indian  Railways  including  Rajasthan,  183  New Line projects of total length of 20,937 km, costing approx. ` 4.0 lakh crore  are  in  different  stages  of  planning/sanction/execution,  out  of which, 2,831 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of approx. ` 1.13 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.

As on 01.04.2022, 11 New Line projects of total length of 1,228 km, costing ` 16,942  crore,  falling  fully/partly  in  Rajasthan  are  under different  stages  of  planning/  approval/  execution,  out  of  which  107 Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ` 2,695 crore  has  been  incurred  upto  March,  2022.  Railway  projects  in Rajasthan  are  covered  in  North  Western  Railway  (NWR),  North Central Railway (NCR), Northern Railway (NR), Western Railway (WR) zone of Indian Railways.

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in budget allocation and  commensurate  commissioning  of  projects.  Average  Annual Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects & safety works, falling fully/ partly in State of Rajasthan, during 2014-19 has been enhanced to ` 2,951  crore  per  year  from ` 682  crore  per  year  during  2009-14, which is 333% more than Average Annual Budget allocation during 2009-14. These budget allocations have increased to ` 4,686 crore in Financial Year 2019-20 (587% more than the Average Annual Budget

allocation of 2009-14), ` 4,582 crore in Financial Year 2020-21(572% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14) , ` 6,006 crore  for  Financial  Year  2021-22  (781%  more  than  the  Average Annual Budget outlay of 2009-14) and ` 7,565 crore for Financial Year 2022-23 (1009% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14). For Financial Year 2023-24, highest  ever  Budget outlay of ` 9,532 crore has been provided for these projects, which is 1298 % more  than  of  the  Average  Annual  Budget  outlay  of  2009-14  ( ` 682 crore per year).

During 2014-22, 2322 Km length (176 km of New line, 771 km Gauge conversion and 1,375 km Doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of Rajasthan has been commissioned at an average rate 290.25 km per year, which is 82% more than commissioning during 2009-14 (159.6

Km/Yr.).

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).

(b): Proposals/suggestions  for  new  lines  both  formal  as  well  as informal  regarding  surveys/projects  of  new  line  are  received  by Railways  at  various  levels  viz.  Railway  Board,  Zonal  Railways  and Divisional Headquarters etc. As receipt of such proposals/suggestions is a continuous and dynamic process, centralized compendium of such requests is not maintained.

New line  projects  are  taken  up  on  the  basis  of  remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socio-economic considerations etc. depending  upon  throw  forward  of ongoing projects,  overall  availability  of  funds  and  competing  demands. Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared for all projects including those  in  Rajasthan  which  are  found  feasible  after  survey.  Projects are appraised based on parameters brought out in DPR. After firming up  of  various  parameters,  further  sanctioning  of  project  requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments and necessary approvals viz. appraisal of NITI Aayog, approval of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs etc. Sanctioning of projects is a continuous process.

(c) to (e): Gajsinghpur, Hanumangarh  and Nohar are already connected  through  railway  network.  Gajsinghpur  is  connected  to Hanumangarh  via  either  Sri  Ganganagar  or  Suratgarh.  Further, Hanumangarh to Nohar is an existing Rail line.

Survey  of  Gajsinghpur-Sadulpur  (248.54  km)  via  Padampur, Goluwala, Rawatsar, Taranagar, Dadrewa was completed in 2015-16. Project could not be taken forward due to low traffic potential.

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