Lok Sabha Question No. 49 (STARRED), answered on 2025-07-23
Subject: Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Rail Infrastructure
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shri Rajesh Verma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  49

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025

## GATI SHAKTI NATIONAL MASTER PLAN FOR RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE

- *49. DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: SHRI RAJESH VERMA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  undertaken  multiple reforms to improve safety, efficiency and project execution in Indian Railways and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of key  objectives  for  introducing the Gati Shakti National Master Plan for rail infrastructure;
- (c) whether multidisciplinary  Gati Shakti Directorates  and  Units have been set up in Indian Railways and Zonal Railways respectively and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) are prepared in consultation  with  other  infrastructure  Ministries  and  stakeholders and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the reforms such as enhanced sanction powers to General Managers  and  DRMs,  'Kavach'  and  Rolling  Blocks  have  helped  in expediting approval and implementation of Indian Railway projects and 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  LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 49 TO BE ANWERED ON 23.07.2025. (a)  to  (e):  Reforms  is  a  continuous  and  ongoing  process  in  Indian Railways.  These  reforms are carried out to enhance  Safety and efficiency in train operations, improve passenger experience, expediting network  expansion  etc.  Following  reforms  have  been  carried  out  on Indian Railways in recent past: (i)  Gati  Shakti  Directorate/Units:  The  PM  Gati  Shakti  National  Master Plan  (NMP)  was  launched  in  October,  2021  to  bring  a  transformative change in the approach towards planning and execution of infrastructural projects pertaining to the transportation sector. Indian Railways has immediately imbibed the principles of Gati Shakti in its project planning process. Drawing upon existing resources, a multidisciplinary Gati Shakti Directorate has been created in Indian Railways. Similarly,  Gati  Shakti  Units  have  been  created  in  Zonal  railways.  The Project  DPRs  are  made  after  consultation  with  all  stakeholders  and other infrastructure ministries/departments. The  above  initiatives  have  expedited  the  appraisal  /sanction  process and execution of Projects. (ii)  Enhanced  power  of  sanction  of  Projects  to  GMs  and  DRMs:  The power of sanction for various projects has been enhanced for GMs and DRMs for faster execution of projects. (iii)  Contracts  finalisation  and  management:  Full  powers  have  been delegated to General Managers for finalisation of the tenders. Further,

Works  Contract  Management  System  (IRWCMS)  and  Contractor's  e-MB

have been implemented for transparent & quick/fast contract management and contractor's billing.

(iv)  Development  and  implementation  of  Kavach:  To  improve  safety  in train  operations,  Kavach  has  been  developed  as  National  Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system on Indian Railways. The work of implementation of Kavach has been taken up in mission mode on Indian

Railways. (v) Elimination of level crossings: To improve safety of train operations and road users, all unmanned level crossings on Broad gauge has been eliminated. Further, it has also been decided to replace all manned level crossings in a phased manner by construction of RoBs/RUBs. (vi) Station Redevelopment: The Indian Railway has launched the Amrit Bharat  Station  scheme  aimed  at  providing  world  class  amenities  to passengers  and  improving  efficiency  in  train  operations  at  Railway stations. So far, 1,337 stations have been taken up for redevelopment in the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. (vii)  Introduction  of  Modern  trains:  To  enhance  passenger  experience and provide comfortable journey, State of the Art Vande Bharat trains, Amrit Bharat Trains and Namo Bharat Rapid Rail with modern features have been introduced on Indian Railways.

(viii) Bharat Gaurav Trains: Indian Railways have launched theme- based Tourist  Circuit  trains  named  as  Bharat  Gaurav  Trains  (BGT)  with  an objective  to  showcase  India's  rich  cultural  heritage  and  magnificent historical places to the people of India and the world through professionals of the tourism sector and other potential service providers.

(ix) Promoting Digital Transactions at Stations & Trains: Digital payment facility  at  various  customer  interface points such as Ticketing facility, Catering units etc. (x)  Freight  transportation:  With  the  view  of  increasing  freight,  Indian Railways has carried out major reforms in the form of many liberalized incentives in form of freight rebates, discounts on assured businesses, concessions on short leads, mini rake loadings, goods shed development,  General  Purpose  Wagon  Investment  Scheme  (GPWIS), Business Development Portal etc. (xi)  Gati  Shakti  Cargo  Terminals:  Gati  Shakti  Cargo  Terminal  initiative has been launched to fast track the approvals and ease of establishing Cargo Terminals to increase the freight loading share of IR. So far, 112 GCTs have been commissioned. (xii)  Railway-  India  Post  Integration  to  develop  "Joint  Parcel  Product": As a joint collaborative initiative between two Government Departments to carry out business, a complete solution of parcel delivery has been started in which First-mile-last-mile connectivity by Department of Posts and Intermediate connectivity from station to station has been provided through Railways. (xiii) Coal Chain Coordination Group: Large number of stakeholders are involved  in  coal  chain,  viz.  coal  companies,  captive  and  commercial mines,  ports,  power  houses,  industries  and  Indian  Railways.  To  coordinate  with  all  the  stakeholders  it  has  been  planned  to  setup  Coal Chain Coordination Group in Ministry of Railways. (xiv)  Annual  Recruitment  Calendar:  Indian  Railways  has  issued  an annual  calendar  for recruitments which  will not only reduce  the

uncertainty  and  waiting  period  for  candidates  but  also  enables  the railways to fill vacancies in a timely manner. (xv) Railway land policy: To streamline and simplify Railway's land lease policy to enable faster integrated planning and development of infrastructure across the country under the PM Gati Shakti framework, the long-term land leasing policy has been issued. (xvi) Introduction of Rolling blocks: Concept of Rolling Blocks have been introduced on Indian Railways in 2023 by Gazette notification wherein work of integrated/ maintenance/repair/replacement of assets is planned upto 52 weeks in advance on rolling basis and executed as per plan by the Divisions.

The launch of PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) has brought transformative  approach  in  planning  and  execution  of  infrastructural transportation  projects.  The  NMP,  spanning  across  the  entire  country has  brought  in  synergy  between  the  infrastructural  sectors  such  as railways, shipping, roadways, telecommunications, pipelines, etc. through collaboration amongst concerned Ministries/State Governments /  Departments,  speeding  up  the  clearances  needed  for  the  project completion as well as planning at a faster pace.

Indian Railways has imbibed the principles of Gati Shakti in its project planning process and now survey of all New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling projects are taken up under PM Gati Shakti National  Master Plan    (NMP)    for    the    development      of      multimodal  connectivity infrastructure  to  various  Economic  Zones  with  an  objective  to  have integrated planning, enhanced logistics efficiency and remove gaps for seamless  movement  of  people,  goods/  commodities  i.e.  agricultural products, fertilizers, coal, iron ore, steel, cement,  limestone etc.  and services including connectivity to places.

PM  Gati  Shakti  Institutional  mechanism  is  being  extensively  used  for ground  surveys,  land  records,  alignment  of  route  and  has  led  to enhancement in the quality of preparation of Detailed Project Report and reduction in project cost.

As a result of comprehensive planning of Railway projects under PM Gati Shakti  National  Master  Plan  and  better  coordination  among  various stakeholders, the sanction of service, sanction of projects and the pace of laying/ commissioning of new tracks has also increased as under-

During last 3 years (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) and current FY, 892 no. Surveys (267 New line, 11 Gauge Conversion and 614 Doubling) of total length 61,462 Km have been sanctioned across Indian Railways.

During last three years i.e. FY 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current FY, 237 projects (40 New Line, 17 Gauge Conversion and 180 Doubling) of total length 9,703 Km, costing approx. Rs 1,90,333 Crore have been sanctioned across Indian Railways.

The  details  of  commissioning  /  laying  of  new  track  across  Indian Railways is given below:-

| Period   | Tracks Commissioned   | Average commissioning of tracks   |
|----------|-----------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 7,599 Km              | 4.2 Km/day                        |
| 2014-25  | 34,428 Km             | 8.57 Km/day ( more than 2 times)  |

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