Lok Sabha Question No. 5271 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-02
Subject: Pending Railway Projects in Maharashtra
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5271

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.04.2025

## PENDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA

- †5271.   SHRI SANJAY UTTAMRAO DESHMUKH: SHRI ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the pending railway projects in Maharashtra, particularly in Yavatmal-Washim  Parliamentary Constituency;
- (b) the  funds  sanctioned  and  released  so  far  for  the  said  pending  railway projects during the last five years;
- (c) the  estimated  timeline  for  completion  of  the  said  pending  railway projects  and  the  targets  set  by  the  Government  for  completion  of  the said projects;
- (d) whether the Government has received any proposal for railway project from the various States including Maharashtra;
- (e) if so, the details thereof;
- (f) the action taken by the Government in this regard and the targets set in this regard in the current budget and the details thereof;
- (g) the  action  plan  of  the  Government  for  development  of  Railways  and providing facilities to the passengers; and
- (h) the  facilities  provided  to  the  students,  old  age  and  elderly  people  and the  manner  in  which  the  interest  of  the  said  people  have  been  taken care of?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (h): Railway projects are surveyed/sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway

wise and not State-wise/Constituency 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, socioeconomic  considerations  etc.  depending  upon  throw  forward  of  ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.

Railway infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra are  covered  under  Central  Railway  (CR),  South  Central  Railway  (SCR), Western Railway (WR), South East Central Railway (SECR) and South Western Railway  (SWR)  zones  of  Indian  Railways.  Zonal  Railway  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, 41 Railway projects (16 New Lines, 02 Gauge Conversions and 23 Doubling), of total length of 5,877 Km, costing Rs.81,580 crore falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra, includingYavatmal -  Washim Parliamentary Constituency, are at various stages of planning and implementation, out of which 1,926 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs.31,236 crore has been incurred upto March, 2024.

## The status of work is summarized as under:-

| Category   | No. of   | Total Length (in Km)   | Length Commissioned (in Km)   | Expenditure upto March, 2024 (Rs. in Cr.)   |
|------------|----------|------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|            | projects |                        |                               |                                             |
| New Lines  | 16       | 2,017                  | 166                           | 8,529                                       |

| Gauge               | 2     | 609         | 312         | 3,332         |
|---------------------|-------|-------------|-------------|---------------|
| Conversion          |       |             |             |               |
| Multitracking Total | 23 41 | 3,251 5,877 | 1,448 1,926 | 19,376 31,236 |

Wardha  -  Yavatmal-  Nanded  New  Line  Project  (284  Km)  passing  through Yavatmal - Washim Parliamentary Constituency has been sanctioned. Out of total 284 Km  length, Wardha -Kalamb section (39 Km) has been commissioned  and  work  on  the  balance  section  have  been  taken  up.  Till February  2025,  an  expenditure  of  Rs.  3,206  Crore  has  been  made  in  this project.  An  allocation  of  Rs.  310  Crore  has  been  made  for  this  project  in Financial Year 2025-26.

Further to improve Rail Connectivity in Yavatmal - Washim Region, following Major surveys have been taken up:-

1. Murtizapur-Achalpur Gauge Conversion Project (76Km).
2. Murtizapur-Yavatmal Gauge Conversion Project (112 Km).

Following major projects falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra have been sanctioned recently:-

|   S.No. | Name of the Project                            | Cost (Rs. in Cr.)   |
|---------|------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|       1 | Manmad-Indore New Line (309 Km)                | 16,321              |
|       2 | Jalna - Jalgaon New Line (174 Km)              | 5,804               |
|       3 | Aurangabad - Ankai doubling (98 Km)            | 961                 |
|       4 | Parbhani - Parli - Vaijanath doubling (65 Km)  | 770                 |
|       5 | Jalgaon - Manmad 4 th Line (160 Km)            | 2,574               |
|       6 | Bhusawal - Khandwa 3 rd and 4 th Line (131 Km) | 3,285               |

Contd….4/-

Average Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and other works, falling fully/ partly in Maharashtra is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                                 |
|----------|----------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | Rs. 1,171 crore/year                   |
| 2025-26  | Rs. 23,778 crore ( more than 20 times) |

Commissioning  of  sections  (New  Line,  Gauge  Conversion  and  Doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra during 2009-14 and 2014-2024 is as under:-

| Period   | New track    | Average commissioning of new    |
|----------|--------------|---------------------------------|
|          | Commissioned | tracks                          |
| 2009-14  | 292 Km       | 58.4 Km/year                    |
| 2014-24  | 1,830 Km     | 183 Km/year (more than 3 times) |

Further,  Construction  works  on  the  flagship  High  speed  bullet  train  project have  gathered  momentum  in  Maharashtra.  Now  100%  land  acquisition  has been completed. Works of bridges, aqueducts etc. have been taken up. Orders for  3  TBMs  to  carry  out  about  21  Km  tunneling  under  sea  have  also  been placed.  Meanwhile,  all  preparatory  works  required  for  the  working  of  TBMs such as construction of shafts etc. have also been taken up.

Western  DFC  also  passes  through  Maharashtra.  About  178  route  Km  of western DFC is situated in Maharashtra which is about 12% of overall route length  of  western  DFC.  76  Km  of  this  project  from  New  Gholvad  to  New Vaitarna in Maharashtra has already been commissioned. Balance works have been  taken  up.  Connectivity  of  WDFC  to  JNPT  will  boost  the  capacity  to handle cargo and container traffic from port to Delhi NCR.

During  the  last  three  years  and  current  year(2021-22,  2022-23,  2023-24  and current Financial Year i.e. 2024-25), 95  No. Surveys (28 New line, 02  Gauge Conversion  and  65  Doubling/multi  tracking)  of  total  length  8,366  km  falling fully/partly in the state of Maharashtra have been sanctioned.

The completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, deposition  of  cost  share  by  State  Government  in  cost  sharing projects,  priority  of  projects,  shifting  of  infringing    utilities,    statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions  of  area,  law  and  order  situation  in  the  area  of  project(s)  site, number  of  working  months    in    a  year  for  particular  project  site  due  to climatic conditions etc.

Various steps taken by the Government for speedy approval and implementation of Railway 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.

Proposals/requests/suggestions/  representations,  both  formal  and  informal for Railway projects/Works across the country are received on the basis of demands raised by State Governments, Members of Parliament, Ministries of Central  Government,  elected  representatives,  Railways'  own  requirements, organizations/rail users etc. at various levels including Railway Board, Zonal

Railways, Division Office etc. As receipt of such proposals/complaints/suggestions  is  a  continuous  and  dynamic  process, centralized compendium of such requests is not maintained. However, these are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to time.

## Station Redevelopment:

Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme  for development of railway stations over Indian Railways. This scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach.

It 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, platform surfacing  and  cover  over  platform,  cleanliness,  free  Wi-Fi,  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 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 ballastless tracks, etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term.

So  far,  1337  stations  have  been  identified  for  development  under  Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 132 stations are located in the state of Maharashtra. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Maharashtra are as following:

| State       |   No. of Amrit Stations | Names of Amrit Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|-------------|-------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Maharashtra |                     132 | Ahmednagar, Ajni (Nagpur), Akalkot Road, Akola, Akurdi, Amalner, Amgaon, Amravati, Andheri, Aurangabad, Badnera, Balharshah, Bandra Terminus, Baramati, Belapur, Bhandara Road, Bhokar, Bhusawal, Borivali, Byculla, Chalisgaon, Chanda Fort, Chandrapur, Charni Road, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Chinchpokli, Chinchwad, Dadar (DDR), Dadar (DR), Dahisar, Daund, Dehu Road, Devlali, Dhamangaon, Dharangaon, Dharmabad, Dhule, Diva, Dudhani, Gangakher, Godhani, Gondia, Grant Road, Hadapsar, Hatkanangale, Hazur Sahib Nanded, Himayatnagar, Hinganghat, Hingoli Deccan, Igatpuri, Itwari, Jalgaon, Jalna, Jeur, Jogeshwari, Kalyan, Kamptee, Kandivali, Kanjur Marg, Karad, Katol, Kedgaon, Kinwat, Kolhapur, Kopargaon, Kurduwadi, Kurla, Lasalgaon, Latur, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Lonand, Lonavla, Lower Parel, Malad, Malkapur, Manmad, Manwath Road, Marine Lines, Matunga, Miraj, Mudkhed, Mumbai Central, Mumbra, Murtajapur, Nagarsol, Nagpur, Nandgaon, Nandura, Nandurbar, Narkher, Nashik Road, |

| Osmanabad, Pachora, Palghar, Pandharpur, Panvel, Parbhani, Parel, Parli Vaijnath, Partur, Phaltan, Prabhadevi, Pulgaon, Pune Jn, Purna, Raver, Rotegaon, Sainagar Shirdi, Sandhurst Road, Sangli, Satara, Savda, Selu, Sewagram, Shahad, Shegaon, Shivaji Nagar Pune, Solapur, Talegaon, Thakurli, Thane, Titvala, Tumsar Road, Umri, Uruli, Vadala Road, Vidyavihar, Vikhroli, Wadsa, Wardha, Washim, Wathar   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Tenders for development works at 107 Amrit stations located in the state of Maharashtra have been awarded and works have been taken up at a good pace. The progress at some of these stations is as given below:

-  At Nagpur station in the state of Maharashtra, structural works of East side departure and arrival building have been completed and works of construction  of  air  concourse,  administrative  building  on  West  side, new foot over bridge, etc. have been taken up.
- At  Matunga  station,  works  of  improvement  of  station  building, booking  office,  platform  surfacing,  platform  shelter,  toilet  block, etc. have been completed.
- At Shahad  station, works  of improvement  of booking office, construction  of  entrance  gate,  new  toilet  block,  improvement  of platform surfacing, platform shelter, parking area, landscaping, etc. have been completed.

- At Devlali station, works of construction of entrance gate, entrance porch, boundary wall, new  platform shelter, improvement of circulating  area,  parking  area,  toilets,  provision  of  lifts,  standard signagaes, improved lighting, etc. have been completed.
- At Savda station, works of improvement of circulating area, parking area, toilets, station lighting, construction of entrance gate, porch, boundary wall, architectural improvement of station building, provision of standard signages, etc. have been completed.
- At Manmad station, works of construction of new platform shelter and  improvement  of  platform  surfacing  have  been  completed  and works  of  construction  of  entrance  gate,  improvement  of  station building,  toilets,  booking  office,  circulating  area,  parking  area, signages,  station  lighting,  construction  of  new  foot  over  bridge, provision of lifts and escalator, etc. have been taken up.
- At  Lasalgaon  station,  works  of  improvement  of  station  building, circulating  area,  parking  area,  provision  of  additional  platform shelters, construction of entrance gate, boundary wall, toilets and new booking office have been completed.

Development/upgradation/  of  stations  is  generally  funded  under  Plan Head-53 'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation and expenditure under Plan Head-53 are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not work-wise or station-wise or state-wise. The state of Maharashtra is covered under four zones viz. Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway and Western Railway. For these zones, an allocation of Rs 3,854 Crores (Revised Estimate) has been made for the financial year 2024-25

under Plan Head-53.

Provision/upgradation of amenities and development of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are  undertaken  as  per  requirement,  subject  to  inter-se  priority  and availability of funds.

Development/  upgradation  of  railway  stations  is  complex  in  nature involving  safety  of  passengers  &  trains  and  requires  various  statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree cutting, airport clearance etc. The progress also gets affected due to brownfield related challenges  such  as  shifting  of  utilities  (involving  water/sewage  lines, optical fibre cables, gas pipe lines, power/signal cables, etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed restrictions due to works carried out in close proximity of tracks and high voltage power lines, etc. and these factors affect the completion time. Therefore, no time frame can be indicated at this stage.

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