Lok Sabha Question No. 2699 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-11
Subject: Identifiable Infrastructural Bottlenecks faced by Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Bharti Pardhi, Shri Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2699 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2024

## IDENTIFIABLE INFRASTRUCTURAL BOTTLENECKS FACED BY RAILWAYS

2699  SHRI ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE:

SMT. BHARTI PARDHI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Indian  Railways  has  been  facing  certain  identifiable infrastructural bottlenecks;
- (b)  if  so,  whether  such  constraints  only  prove  to  impede  efficiency  and restrict the capacity of rail freight operations, undermining the competitiveness against other modes of transportation;
- (c) if so, the response of the Union Government thereon;
- (d) whether it is crucial to increase rail freight share for economic growth and addressing environmental concerns; and
- (e)  if  so,  the  steps  taken  by  the  Union  Government  to  address  these challenges to enhance the railway's operational capabilities and fostering sustainable growth?

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ANSWER ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (e) To create a 'future ready' transport system, Indian Railways has planned  to  increase  railway  modal  share  in  freight  to  35-45%.  The objective of the Plan is to 'create capacity ahead of demand', which in

turn  would  cater  to  the  future  growth  in  the  transport  sector.  The  rail infrastructure  augmentation  plan inter-alia focuses  on  the  network capacity enhancement, removal of bottlenecks, increasing average speed of freight trains, reduction in cargo transit time and cost.

Presently, 624 no. of surveys (New line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling) having a total length of 49,520 km have been taken up on Indian Railways under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) for the development of multimodal  connectivity  infrastructure  to  various  Economic  Zones  with an  objective  to  have  integrated  planning,  enhanced  logistics  efficiency and remove gaps for seamless movement of people and goods including connectivity to industrial clusters, ports, mines, power plants, tourist and cultural places, agricultural zones etc.

As on 01.04.2024, 488 projects (187 New Lines, 40 Gauge Conversion and 261 Doubling) of total length 44,488 km, costing approx. ₹7.44 lakh crore are  in  various  stages  of  planning/approval/construction,  out  of  which, 12,045  km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  expenditure  of  approx. ₹2.92 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2024.

| Category                |   No. of Projects | Total length (km)   | Length Commissioned till Mar'24 (km)   | Total exp upto Mar'24 (₹in crore)   |
|-------------------------|-------------------|---------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| New Lines               |               187 | 20,199              | 2,855                                  | 1,60,022                            |
| Gauge Conversion        |                40 | 4,719               | 2,972                                  | 18,706                              |
| Doubling/ Multitracking |               261 | 19,570              | 6,218                                  | 1,13,742                            |
| Total                   |               488 | 44,488              | 12,045                                 | 2,92,470                            |

Zone-wise/year-wise details of all Railway Projects including cost, expenditure, and outlay are made available in the public domain on the Indian Railway's website.

The details of commissioning/laying of new track across Indian Railways is given below:

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 7,599 km                 | 4.2 km/day                            |
| 2014-24  | 31,180 km                | 8.54 km/day (more than 2 times)       |

Various steps taken by the Government  for speedy approval and implementation of rail projects include (i) setting up of Gati Shakti units (ii) prioritisation of projects (iii) substantial increase in allocation of funds on  priority  projects  (iv)  delegation  of  powers  at  field  level  (v)  close monitoring of progress of project at various levels, and (vi) regular follow up  with  State  Governments  and  concerned  authorities  for  expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects. This has led to substantial increase in rate of commissioning since 2014.

Indian  Railways  has  achieved  97%  electrification  of  its  broad-gauge network  which  is  a  milestone  for  sustainable  transport  of  global  scale among major countries. Besides, environmental sustainability and reducing carbon footprints, steps taken by Railways would also contribute to increasing fuel efficiency and saving foreign exchange.

To  boost  efficiency  on  cargo  terminals,  'Gati  Shakti  Cargo  Terminal (GCT)' policy has been launched, wherein GCTs are being developed. 91 GCTs have been commissioned so far.

Further, a total of 2,741 km out of 2,843 km of Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) has been commissioned so far, which would provide higher freight speed, reduce cargo transit and lower carbon emission.

*****