Lok Sabha Question No. 4395 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Expansion Plan of Dhubri Railway Station in Assam
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Md. Rakibul Hussain

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4395

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025

## EXPANSION PLAN OF DHUBRI RAILWAY STATION IN ASSAM

4395.  MD. RAKIBUL HUSSAIN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  Dhubri  Railway  Station  is  of immense  strategic  importance  and  witnesses  a  hefty  footfall  due  to  its geographical importance of connecting Assam to the rest of the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether there are any plans to expand and modernise the said Railway Station  to  accommodate  the  increasing  passenger  traffic  and  improve railway services in the region and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  the  details  of  the  specific  expansion  plans  including  infrastructure upgrades, additional platforms/improved passenger amenities; and
- (d) whether any special provisions are proposed to boost freight transport via  Dhubri  Railway Station given its economic and logistical significance and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d) Dhubri Railway Station, located in the state of Assam, has been categorized as a NSG-4 station which serves approximately 1000 passengers  daily.  It  has  been  identified  for  development  under  Amrit Bharat  Station  Scheme.  The  structural  work  of  station  building  and platform  shelters  have  been  completed.  The  finishing  works  of  station building, improvement of circulating area, waiting hall, toilet, platform no. 2 & 3, 12 m Foot Over Bridge and lifts have been taken up.

To enhance customer experience and provide better amenities, Indian Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations  with  a  long-term  approach.  The  scheme  involves  preparation  of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes:

- Improvement of access to station and circulating areas
- Integration of station with both sides of city
- Improvement of station building
- Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water booths
- Provision  of  wider  foot  over  bridge/air  concourse  commensurate with passenger traffic
- Provision of lift/escalators/ramp
- Improvement /Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms
- Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like 'One Station One Product'
- Parking areas, Multimodal integration
- Amenities for Divyangjans
- Better passenger information systems
- Provision  of  executive  lounges,  nominated  spaces  for  business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station

The  scheme  also  envisages  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,  including  50  stations  located  in  the  state  of Assam,  have  been  identified  for  development  under  this  scheme.  The names of stations  identified  for  development  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme in the State of Assam are as following:

| State   |   No. of Amrit Stations | Names of Amrit Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|---------|-------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Assam   |                      50 | Amguri, Arunachal, Chaparmukh, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Diphu, Duliajan, Fakiragram Jn., Gauripur, Gohpur, Golaghat, Gosai gaon hat, Guwahati, Haibargaon, Harmuti, Hojai, Jagi Road, Jorhat Town, Kamakhya Jn, Kokrajhar, Lanka, Ledo, Lumding Jn, Majbat, Makum Jn, Margherita, Mariani Jn, Murkongselek, Naharkatiya, Nalbari, Namrup, Narangi, New Bongaigaon Jn, New Haflong, New Karimganj Jn, New Tinsukia Jn, North Lakhimpur, Pathshala, Rangapara North Jn, Rangiya Jn, Sarupathar, Sibsagar Town, Silapathar, Silchar, Simaluguri, Tangla, Tinsukia, Udalguri, Viswanath Chariali |

Development  works  at  railway  stations  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme in the state of Assam have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works of 01 station (Haibargaon) in the state of Assam has been completed under this scheme. The works at other stations have also been taken up  at  good  pace  and  progress  of  some  of  the  stations  is  as  given below:

- Majpat station: The work of platform shelter, platform extension, train  indication  board,  toilet,  porch,  improvement  of  circulating area  and  lighting  have  been  completed.  The  works  of  lift  and improvement of parking area have been taken up.
- Rangapara North Junction station: The works of platform shelter has been  completed.  The  works of station building, porch, improvement  of  circulating  area,  train  indication  board,  lighting and tactile pathways have been taken up.
- Tangla station: The work of platform shelters, platform extension and  train  indication  board  have  been  completed.  The  work  of construction of toilet, porch and improvement circulating area,tactile pathways, lifts have been taken up.
- Udalguri  station:  The  work  platform  shelter,  platform  extension and  train  indication  board  have  been  completed.  The  work  of construction  of  toilet,  porch,  improvement  of  circulating  area, tactile pathways have been taken up.

Further development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation 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. The priority for development / redevelopment  /  upgradation  /  modernisation  of  stations  is  accorded  to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works.

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.

Development / upgradation / modernisation of stations including under Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  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 Assam is covered under the jurisdiction of Northeast Frontier Railway. For the zone, an allocation of ₹ 554 crore has been made for the financial year 2025-26, out of which an expenditure (up to July, 2025) of ₹ 139 crore has been incurred so far.

Further, Indian Railways is committed to run more trains on its network. However,  introduction  of  new  trains,  increase  in  frequency  of  existing trains,  extension  of  existing  trains  etc.  on  any  route/section  depends  on various factors which include:

- Capacity of that section,
- Availability of path,
- Availability of required rolling stock,
- Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock,
- Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets

Considering  the  above  factors,  presently  08  trains  are  serving  Dhubri station connecting it inter alia to Alipurduar, Guwahati, Silghat Town.

To  increase  the  capacity  of  the  rail  network  and  hence  to  run  more trains,  Indian  Railways  have  taken  up  network  expansion  works  in  a  big way.

As  far  as  freight  transport  is  concerned,  Dhubri  is  the  terminating station  on  Fakiragram-Dhubri  section  of  Alipurduar  division  of  Northeast Frontier  Railway.  No  demand/proposal  for  freight  loading/unloading  at Dhubri station has been received in the last three years.

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