Lok Sabha Question No. 438 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-27
Subject: Rail Projects for Rajasthan
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Manju Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 438 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.11.2024

## RAIL PROJECTS FOR RAJASTHAN

†438    SMT. MANJU SHARMA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) details  of  the  rail  projects  sanctioned  for  the  State  of  Rajasthan since 2019, zone and year-wise;
- (b) the number of ongoing projects out of the said projects along with the  details  of  expenditure  incurred  thereon  so  far  and  the  steps taken  by  the  Government  for  timely  completion  of  these  projects, project-wise;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to allocate funds after analysing projects  of  the  last  rail  budget  and  sanction  funds  for  other  new projects for the State in the budget of financial year 2024-25;
- (d)
- If so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the  details  of  the  operation  of  new  trains  declared  for  Rajasthan during the last three years?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING 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.  438  BY  SMT.  MANJU  SHARMA  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 27.11.2024 REGARDING RAIL PROJECTS FOR RAJASTHAN

(a) to (d): Railway projects/surveys are not sanctioned Statewise/District-wise/Region-wise/Constituency-wise, but sanctioned Zone wise as Indian Railways' projects may span across State boundaries/Parliamentary  Constituencies.  Railway  projects  are  taken up  Zonal  Railway-wise  on  the  basis  of  remunerativeness,  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, socioeconomic considerations etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.

Railway projects in Rajasthan are covered by Northern Railway, North Central  Railway,  North  Western  Railway,  West  Central  Railway  and Western  Railway  Zones  of  Indian  Railways.  Zone  wise  details  of Railway  projects,  including  cost,  expenditure  and  outlay  are  made available in public domain on Indian Railways website.

As on 01.04.2024, 32 Railway infrastructure projects (15 new lines, 05 gauge conversion and 12 doubling), costing ₹ 51814 crore for 4191 km length  falling  fully/partly  in  Rajasthan  are  under  different  stages  of planning/approval/execution.  Out  of  which  1183  km  length  has  been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹ 14786 crore has been incurred upto March 2024. The summary is as under:

| Category                |   No. of projects | Total Length (in km)   | Length Commissioned (Km)   | Exp upto March 2024 (₹ in cr.)   |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------------|
| New lines               |                15 | 1230                   | 134                        | 3593                             |
| Gauge conversion        |                 5 | 1252                   | 759                        | 5398                             |
| Doubling/ Multitracking |                12 | 1709                   | 290                        | 5794                             |
| TOTAL                   |                32 | 4,191                  | 1,183                      | 14,785                           |

Since  2014,  there  has  been  substantial  increase  in  Budget  allocation and commensurate commissioning of projects. Annual Budget allocation for  Infrastructure  and  other  works,  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of Rajasthan is as under:

| Period   | Average Outlay               |
|----------|------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹ 682 Cr./Yr                 |
| 2023-24  | ₹ 9532 Cr. (Nearly 14 times) |
| 2024-25  | ₹ 9959 Cr. (Nearly 15 times) |

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  | 798 Km                   | 159.6 km/year                         |
| 2014-24  | 3742 Km                  | 374.2 km/year (More than 2 times)     |

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors like quick land  acquisition  by  State  Government, forest  clearance by officials  of forest  department,  shifting  of  infringing  utilities,  statutory  clearances from various authorities, geological  and  topographical   conditions    of …3/-

area,  law  and  order  situation  in  the  area  of  project/s  site,  number  of working  months  in  a  year  for  particular  project  site  etc.  All  these factors affect the completion time of the project/s.

Various  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  effective  and  speedy implementation  of  rail  projects  include  (i)  substantial  increase  in allocation  of  funds,  (ii)  delegation  of  powers  at  field  level,  (iii)  close monitoring of progress of project at various levels (iv) 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.

(e):  As  the  Railway  network  straddles across State  boundaries, trains are  introduced,  as  per  network  requirement,  across  such  boundaries. However, during the last 03 years, i.e. from 2022-2023 to 2024-2025 (till 20 th November,  2024),  25  pairs  of  new  train  services,  on  Originating/ Terminating  basis,  have  been  introduced  catering  to  the  needs  of passengers of the stations located in the State of Rajasthan.

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