Lok Sabha Question No. 151 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-13
Subject: Feasibility of High Speed Passenger Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre, Saikia Dilip

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 151 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2023

## FEASIBILITY OF HIGH SPEED PASSENGER TRAINS

## *151. SHRI  SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE: SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Railways  is  considering  to  introduce  Vande  Bharat trains in various railway divisions including North East States, Gujarat, Karnataka, South East Central Railway, Bilaspur zone and Maharashtra especially in Latur districts;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Railways  has  further  decided  to  conduct  a  feasibility study  for  any  railway  station  in  the  above  States  for  upgradation  of engineering and station infrastructure for high speed passenger trains; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 151 BY SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE AND SHRI DILIP SAIKIA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 13.12.2023 REGARDING FEASIBILITY OF HIGH SPEED PASSENGER TRAINS (a) to  (d)    As  the  Railway  network  straddles  across  State  boundaries, trains  services  including  Vande  Bharat  are  introduced,  as  per  network requirement, across such boundaries. As on 10 th  December, 2023, 68 Vande Bharat train  services  are  running  across  the  Indian  Railways,  connecting states having Broad Gauge (B.G.) electrified network. These are operational on the New Delhi   - Prayagraj - Kanpur Central - Varanasi, New Delhi  -  Ambala  Cantt.  -  Ludhiana  -  Jammu  Tawi -  Shri  Mata  Vaishno  Devi Katra, Mumbai Central - Borivali - Vapi - Surat - Vadodara - Ahmedabad Gandhinagar Capital   , New Delhi- Ambala Cantt. - Chandigarh - Anandpur Sahib - Una Himachal - Amb Andaura, MGR Chennai Central- Katpadi - KSR Bengaluru  -  Mysuru,  Bilaspur-  Raipur  -  Durg  -  Rajnandgaon  -  Gondia  Nagpur,  Howrah-  Bolpur  Shantiniketan  -  Malda  Town  -  Barsoi  -  New Jalpaiguri,  Chhatrapati  Shivaji  Maharaj  Terminus-  Nasik  Road  -  Kalyan  Thane  -  Dadar  -  Sainagar  Shirdi,  Chhatrapati  Shivaji  Maharaj  TerminusDadar  -  Thane  -  Kalyan  -  Pune  -  Kurduvadi  -  Solapur,  Rani  Kamalapati  Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi - Gwalior -Agra Cantt. -  Hazrat Nizamuddin, MGR Chennai Central- Salem - Erode - Tiruppur - Coimbatore, Secunderabad - Nalgonda - Guntur - Ongole - Nellore - Tirupati, Ajmer - Jaipur - Alwar Rewari - Gurgaon - Delhi Cantt., Visakhapatnam- Samalkot - Rajamundry Vijayawada  -  Khammam  -  Warangal  -  Secunderabad,  Kasargod-  Kannur  Kozhikkode -Tirur - Shoranur  - Thrisur - Ernakulam -Alappuzha -Kollam Thiruvananthapuram Central, Kasargod - Kannur - Kozhikkode - Shoranur  Thrisur -Ernakulam Town -Kottayam -Chengannur -Kollam -Thiruvananthapuram  Central,  Howrah-  Kharagpur  -  Balasore  -  Bhadrak  Jajpur  -  Keonjhar  Road  -  Cuttack  -  Bhubaneswar  -  Khurda  Road  -  Puri  ,

Anand Vihar Terminal- Meerut City - Muzaffarnagar - Deoband - Saharanpur

- Roorkee - Haridwar - Dehradun, New Jalpaiguri - New Cooch Behar -  New Alipurduar - Kokrajhar -  New Bongaigaon -  Kamakhya - Guwahati, Patna Gaya  -  Koderma  -  Hazaribagh  Town  -  Barkakana  -  Mesra  -  Ranchi,  KSR Bengaluru  - Yesvantpur - Davangere - Hubballi - Dharwad, Rani KamalapatiNarmadapuram - Itarsi - Pipariya -Narsinghpur - Jabalpur - Katni - Maihar Satna - Rewa, Indore - Ujjain - Bhopal - Itarsi - Betul -Nagpur, Chhatrapati Shivaji  Maharaj  Terminus-  Dadar  -  Thane  -  Panvel  -  Khed  -  Ratnagiri  Kankavli - Thivim - Madgaon,     Gorakhpur - Basti - Ayodhya - Lucknow, Jodhpur-  Pali  -  Marwar  -  Falna  -    Abu  Road  -    Palanpur  -          Mahesana  Sabarmati,  Ahmedabad  - Sabarmati - Sanand - Viramgam -  Surendranagar - Wankaner  - Rajkot - Jamnagar , Udaipur City- Rana Pratap Nagar - Mavli Chittaurgarh -Bhilwara  Bijainagar -Ajmer  Kishangarh  Jaipur, Kacheguda-  Mahbubnagar  -  Kurnool  City  -  Anantapur  -  Dharmavaram  Yesvantpur, Chennai Egmore- Tambaram - Villupuram - Tiruchchirappalli Dindigul  -  Madurai  -  Virudunagar  -  Tirunelveli,  MGR  Chennai  CentralRenigunta  -  Nellore  -  Ongole  -  Tenali  -  Vijayawada,  Howrah  -  Durgapur  Asansol - Jamtara - Jasidih - Luckeesarai - Mokama - Patna Saheb - Patna, Rourkela - Jharsuguda - Sambalpur City - Raikakhol - Angul - Talcher Road -  Dhenkanal  -  Cuttack  -  Bhubaneswar  -  Khurda  Road  -  Puri,  Howrah  Kharagpur  -  Tatanagar  -  Chandil  -  Purulia  -  Kotshila  -  Muri  -  Ranchi sectors.

Besides, introduction of new Vande Bharat services is an ongoing process over Indian Railways subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, resource availability, etc.

Ministry  of  Railways  has  recently  launched  a  Scheme  of  'Amrit  Bharat Station'  for  development  of  Stations  on  Indian  Railways.  This  scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term approach.  The  scheme  involves  preparation  of  Master  Plans  and  their implementation  in  phases  to  improve  the  amenities  at  the  stations  like improvement  of  station  access,  circulating  areas,  waiting  halls,  toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free WiFi, kiosks for local products through schemes like 'One Station One Product", better passenger information  systems,  executive  lounges,  nominated  spaces  for  business meetings,  landscaping  etc.  keeping  in  view  the  necessity  at  each  such station.

The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for 'Divyangjans'  sustainable  and  environment  friendly  solutions,  provision  of ballast  less  tracks,  'Roof  Plazas'  as  per  necessity  phasing  and  feasibility and  creation  of  city  centers  at  the  station  in  the  long  term.  Total  1309 stations  have  been  selected  under  the  Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme.  Of these,  01  station  is  in  Arunachal  Pradesh,  01  station  is  in  Manipur,  01 station is in Meghalaya, 01 station is in Mizoram, 01 station is in Nagaland, 4  stations  are  in  Tripura,  50  stations  are  in  Assam,  32  stations  are  in Chhattisgarh, 56 stations are in Karnataka, 126 stations are in Maharashtra.

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