Lok Sabha Question No. 5243 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-02
Subject: New Railway Line between Guwahati-Tezpur
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Ranjit Dutta

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5243 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.04.2025

## NEW RAILWAY LINE BETWEEN GUWAHATI - TEZPUR

†5243.   SHRI RANJIT DUTTA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  build  a  new  railway  line connecting Guwahati to Tezpur through Darang district;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  and  current  status  of  the  said  proposal  including feasibility study and project timeline thereof;
- (c) if not, whether the Government proposes to work on the said project to improve rail connectivity and boost economic development in the region; and
- (d) if so, the steps taken by the Government  to enhance  Railways infrastructure in Assam particularly in Darang and Sonitpur districts?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): Railway projects are surveyed/sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise  and  not  State-wise/Constituency  wise/District  wise  as  the  Railway projects may span across State boundaries. Railway projects are sanctioned on the basis of remunerativeness, traffic projections, last mile connectivity, missing  links  and  alternate  routes,  augmentation  of  congested/saturated lines, demands raised by State Governments,  Central Ministries,  Members

of  Parliament,    other  public  representatives,  Railway's  own  operational requirement, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.

Final Location Survey (FLS) of Agthori (Guwahati) - Dekargaon (Tezpur) New Line Project (155 Km) and Tezpur - Silghat New Line Project (25 Km), which pass  through  Darrang  and  Sonitpur  districts  have  been  sanctioned  and survey work has been taken up.

To  improve  and  boost  economic  development  in  Assam  Region,  following projects falling fully/ partly in Assam Region have been completed/ongoing:

## Completed Projects:-

- 1.
- New Maynaguri - Jogighopa New Line (288.88 Km).
2. Digaru - Hojai doubling (102 Km).
3. Hojai - Lumding doubling (44.92 Km).
- 4.
- New Bongaigaon - Rangiya- Agthori (142.97 Km).

## Ongoing Projects:-

1. Murkonselek- Pasighat New Line (26.15 Km).
2. 2.
3. Tetelia- Byrnihat New Line (21.50 Km).
4. 3.
5. 4.
6. New Bongaigaon- Goalpara- Kamakhya doubling (176 Km).
7. Lumding Furkating doubling (140 Km).
5. Kamakhya- Guwahati 3 rd  line (5.44 Km).
6. Agthori-Kamakhya including Rail cum Road Bridge at Saraighat (7.062 Km).

Further, In last 3 years (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and current Financial Year i.e. 2024-25), 14 surveys (09 New line & 05 Doubling) of total length 1,869 km falling fully/partly in the the State of Assam, have been sanctioned.

As on 01.04.2024, 18 Railway projects (13 New Line and 05 Doubling), of total length of 1,368 km costing ₹74,972 crore falling fully/partly in the North East Region including the State of Assam, are at various stages of planning and implementation, out of which 313 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure  of  ₹40,549  crore  has  been  incurred  upto  March  2024.  These include:-

| Plan Head   |   No. of project s |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) | Exp upto March 2024 (₹ in Cr.)   |
|-------------|--------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| New Lines   |                 13 |                    896 |                            81 | 34,616                           |
| Doublin g   |                  5 |                    472 |                           232 | 5,933                            |
| Total       |                 18 |                   1368 |                           313 | 40,549                           |

Commissioning of infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the North East Region including the State of Assam, is given below:-

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average Commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 333 Km                   | 66.6 Km/year                          |
| 2014-24  | 1728 Km                  | 172.8 Km/year (Nearly 3 times )       |

Average Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and other works, falling fully/ partly in North East Region including the State of Assam, is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                   |
|----------|--------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹2,122 Crore/year        |
| 2025-26  | ₹10,440 (Nearly 5 times) |

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