Lok Sabha Question No. 328 (STARRED), answered on 2024-12-18
Subject: Construction of New Railway Line in Odisha
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Rudra Narayan Pany

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 328 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2024

## CONSTRUCTION OF NEW RAILWAY LINE IN ODISHA

- *328. SHRI RUDRA NARAYAN PANY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is considering any proposal for construction  of a  new  railway  line  connecting  Hindol  town, Dhenkanal district of Odisha to existing railway network;
- (b)    if  so,  the  status  of  the  said  project  including  the  timeline  for commencement;
- (c)   if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the Government has alternative plan to improve transportation, infrastructure, boosting local trade and enhancing tourism potential of the area; and
- (e)   if so, the details thereof?

## 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 STARRED QUESTION NO. 328 BY SHRI RUDRA NARAYAN PANY TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 18.12.2024 REGARDING CONSTRUCTION OF NEW RAILWAY LINE IN ODISHA.

(a)  to  (e):  Railway  projects  are  surveyed/sanctioned/executed  Zonal Railway wise and not State/District wise as the Railways' projects may span across State/District boundaries. Sanctioning of Railway projects is  a  continuous  and  dynamic  process  of  Indian  Railway.  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, socioeconomic  considerations including local trade and tourism etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.

Railway  infrastructure  projects  falling  fully/partly in  the  State  of Odisha are covered under East Coast Railway, South Eastern Railway and  South  East  Central  Railway  zones  of  Indian  Railways.  Zonal Railway wise details of  Railway  projects  including  cost,  expenditure and  outlay  are  made  available  in  public  domain  on  Indian  Railway's website.

As on 01.04.2024, 40 Projects (13 New Lines, 1 Gauge Conversion and 26 Doubling) of total length 4,017 Km, costing Rs. 54,434 crore, falling fully/partly  in  Odisha  are  in  planning/approval/construction  stage,  out of which, 1,100 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs. 22,833 crore has been incurred upto March, 2024. The summary is as under:-

| Category               |   No. of Projects | Total Length (in Km)   | Length Commissioned till Mar'24 (in Km)   | Total Exp upto Mar'24 (Rs. in Crore)   |
|------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| New Lines              |                13 | 1422                   | 183                                       | 5090                                   |
| Gauge Conversion       |                01 | 159                    | 90                                        | 184                                    |
| Doubling/Multitracking |                26 | 2436                   | 827                                       | 17559                                  |
| Total                  |                40 | 4,017                  | 1,100                                     | 22,833                                 |

The  details  of  outlay  for  infrastructure  projects  falling  fully/partly  in the State of Odisha is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                              |
|----------|-------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | Rs. 838 Cr./Year                    |
| 2024-25  | Rs. 10,586 Cr. (More than 12 times) |

The details of commissioning/ laying of  new track falling fully/partly in the State of Odisha during 2009-14 and 2023-24 is as under :-

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average Commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 267 Km                   | 53.4 Km                               |
| 2023-24  | 243 Km                   | 243 Km (More than 4 times)            |

Hindol Road and Dhenkanal are existing stations between Angul and Bhubaneshwar on Indian Railway network. To improve connectivity of Hindol town, a survey for Angul-Nayagarh new rail line passing through Hindol Town has also been sanctioned.

Further,  to  improve  rail  connectivity  in  Odisha,  following  projects falling fully/partly in the State of Odisha have been sanctioned  in the current financial year i.e. 2024-25:-

|   SN | Name of the Project                                                      | Cost (Rs. in Crore)   |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|
|    1 | Gunupur-Therubali New Line (73.62 Km)                                    | 1,166                 |
|    2 | Malkangiri-Pandurangapuram via Bhadrachalam station New Line (173.61 Km) | 3,592                 |
|    3 | Badampahar-Kendujhargarh New Line (82.06 Km)                             | 1,876                 |
|    4 | Junagarh-Nabarangpur New Line (116.21 Km)                                | 2,865                 |
|    5 | Buramara-Chakulia New Line (59.96 Km)                                    | 1,459                 |
|    6 | Bangriposi-Gorumahisani New Line (85.60 Km)                              | 2,269                 |
|    7 | Bargarh Road - Nawapara Road New Line (138.32 Km)                        | 2,622                 |
|    8 | Sardega - Bhalumunda New Double Line (37.24 Km)                          | 1,282                 |

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