Lok Sabha Question No. 416 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-27
Subject: Survey of New Railway Line in Rajahmundry
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dr. D. Purandeswari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 416

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.11.2024

## SURVEY OF NEW RAILWAY LINE IN RAJAHMUNDRY

416. SMT. DAGGUBATI PURANDESWARI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  survey  approved  for  new  railway  lines  in  the country  during  the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year  along with the present status thereof, zone/section-wise particularly in the Lok Sabha constituency of Rajahmundry;
- (b) the details of funds allocated and spent on these surveys during the last three years, zone-wise;
- (c) whether the Railways has sanctioned projects for laying of new railway lines for which surveys have already been completed, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor, zone/section-wise;
- (d) whether any time-frame has been fixed to reach a final decision on the completed survey reports for laying of new railway lines and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to expedite the projects for which surveys have already been completed?

## 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. *****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 416 BY SMT. DAGGUBATI PURANDESWARI  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  27.11.2024 REGARDING SURVEY OF NEW RAILWAY LINE IN RAJAHMUNDRY

(a) to (e): New Railway line projects are surveyed/ sanctioned Zonal Railway wise and not Parliamentary constituency wise as the Railways'  surveys/projects  may  span  across  State/UT/constituency boundaries.

During the last three years and the current FY 2024-25, 287 surveys for New Lines of a total length of 25,575 km at a cost of 710 crore have  been  sanctioned throughout  the  country  including  those  falling fully/partly  in  Andhra  Pradesh.  The  expenditure  incurred  on  these surveys during the last 03 years is  167.47 crore.

Zonal Railway-wise details of these sanctioned New Line survey are given below:-

|   SN | Zone                       |   No. of New line surveys approved. |   Total Length (in km) |
|------|----------------------------|-------------------------------------|------------------------|
|    1 | Central Railway            |                                  15 |                   1443 |
|    2 | East Coast Railway         |                                  26 |                   1900 |
|    3 | East Central Railway       |                                  20 |                   1053 |
|    4 | Eastern Railway            |                                   5 |                    171 |
|    5 | North Central Railway      |                                  10 |                    605 |
|    6 | North Eastern Railway      |                                   5 |                    442 |
|    7 | Northeast Frontier Railway |                                  30 |                   2865 |
|    8 | Northern Railway           |                                  33 |                   1485 |
|    9 | North Western Railway      |                                  20 |                   1709 |
|   10 | South Central Railway      |                                  25 |                   4293 |
|   11 | South East Central Railway |                                  27 |                   4045 |
|   12 | South Eastern Railway      |                                  17 |                   1335 |
|   13 | Southern Railway           |                                   6 |                    907 |
|   14 | South Western Railway      |                                  16 |                   1566 |
|   15 | West Central Railway       |                                   9 |                    673 |
|   16 | Western Railway            |                                  23 |                   1083 |

The  details  of  34  New  Line  projects  sanctioned  during  the  last  03 years and the current FY 2024-25 are as under:-

| Railway            |   No. of new line projects sanctioned in the last three years and current year. |   Total length (in kms) |
|--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------|
| Central            |                                                                              04 |                     524 |
| East Coast         |                                                                              08 |                     616 |
| East Central       |                                                                              03 |                      53 |
| North Eastern      |                                                                              02 |                      82 |
| North Western      |                                                                              08 |                     278 |
| South Central      |                                                                              01 |                      57 |
| South East Central |                                                                              01 |                      37 |
| South Eastern      |                                                                              02 |                     168 |
| South Western      |                                                                              01 |                      18 |
| Southern           |                                                                              01 |                      01 |
| Western            |                                                                              03 |                      65 |

After  firming  up  of  Detailed  Project  Report,  sanctioning  of  project requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments  and  necessary  approvals  viz.  appraisal  of  NITI  Aayog, Ministry of Finance etc. As sanctioning of projects is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed.

New Line  projects  falling  fully/partly  in  Andhra  Pradesh  are  covered under Southern Railway, South Central Railway, South Western Railway and East Coast Railway zones of Indian Railways.

Zonal Railway wise details of projects including their cost, expenditure,  outlay  are  made  available  in  public  domain  on  Indian Railways website.

As  on  01.04.2024,  17  New  Lines,  covering  total  length  of  1,935  km, costing ₹26,292 crore, falling fully/partly in Andhra Pradesh, are in the stage of planning/approval/execution, out of which 184 km length has been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of  ₹5,530  crore  has  been incurred upto March 2024.

Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works falling fully/partly in the State of Andhra Pradesh is as under:

| Year      | Budget outlay   | Increase w.r.t. average annual   |
|-----------|-----------------|----------------------------------|
| 2009-2014 | 886 Crore /year | -                                |
| 2024-2025 | 9,151 Crore     | More than 10 times               |

## Commissioning of infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Andhra Pradesh is as under:

| Period   | Total Length Commissioned   | Average Length Commissioned   | Increase w.r.t. average commissioning during 2009-14   |
|----------|-----------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 363 km                      | 72.6 km/Year                  | -                                                      |
| 2014-24  | 1,510 km                    | 151 km/Year                   | More than 2 times                                      |

Various  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  speedy  sanction  and implementation  of  rail  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.

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