Lok Sabha Question No. 569 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-23
Subject: Vulnerable Railway Infrastructure in Natural Disaster hit North East Region
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Joyanta Basumatary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 569 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025

## VULNERABLE RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE IN NATURAL DISASTER HIT NORTH EAST REGION

## 569.  SHRI JOYANTA BASUMATARY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  the  estimated  losses  to  the  Northeast  Frontier Railway (NFR) due to natural disasters during the last five years;
- (b) the length of new railway lines constructed in the North Eastern Region (NER) during the last five years and the number of trees that have been cut down for the construction of the same;
- (c) whether the Government has conducted any studies on how the construction of railway infrastructure can contribute to natural disasters such as landslides in the North Eastern Region (NER) and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the  details  of  the  measures  devised  to  mitigate  the  Natural Disasters; and
- (e) whether the Government has conducted a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of railway infrastructure in the North East to disasters like flooding, landslides and earthquakes during the last five years and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (e):  Railway  projects  are  surveyed/  sanctioned/executed  Zonal Railway wise and not Region-wise/State-wise/UT-wise/District-wise as

Railway projects may span across State/UT/District boundaries. Railway  projects,  including  those  in  the  North  Eastern  Region,  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.

As on 01.04.2025, 12 Railway projects (08 New Lines, 04 Doubling), of total  length  of  777  Km,  costing  ₹.69,342  crore  located  fully/partly  in North  Eastern  Region  (NER)  have been  sanctioned, out of  which  278 Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of  ₹.41,676 crore  has  been  incurred  up  to  March,  2025.  The  status  of  work  is summarized as under:-

| Category                |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) | Expenditure upto March, 2024 (₹ in Cr.)   |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| New Lines               |                08 |                    448 |                           113 | 38,078                                    |
| Doubling/ Multitracking |                04 |                    329 |                           165 | 3,698                                     |
| Total                   |                12 |                    777 |                           278 | 41,676                                    |

Average Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and other works, falling fully/ partly in North Eastern Region (NER) is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                              |
|----------|-------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹ 2,122 crore/year                  |
| 2025-26  | ₹ 10,440 crore ( more than 4 times) |

## Commissioning of sections (New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling) falling  fully/partly  in  North  Eastern  Region  (NER)  during  2009-14  and 2014-2025 is as under:-

| Period   | New track Commissioned   | Average commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 333 Km                   | 66.6 Km/year                          |
| 2014-25  | 1,840 Km                 | 167.27 Km/year (more than 2 times)    |

## To strengthen connectivity in North Eastern Region, following projects have been commissioned during the last 10 years:

| SN               | Name of project                                             | Cost (₹ in crore)   |
|------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| NEW LINES        | NEW LINES                                                   |                     |
| 1.               | Bogibeel bridge with linked line (92 Km.)                   | 5,820               |
| 2.               | Agartala- Sabroom (112 Km.)                                 | 3,170               |
| 3.               | Agartala- Akhaura(5 Km.)                                    | 865                 |
| GAUGE CONVERSION | GAUGE CONVERSION                                            |                     |
| 1.               | Rangiya- Murkongselek alongwith linked fingers (510.33 Km.) | 3,019.17            |
| 2.               | Kumarghat- Agartala (109 Km.)                               | 1,242               |
| 3.               | Katakhal- Bhairabi (84 Km.)                                 | 348                 |
| 4.               | Lumding-Badarpur- Silchar & Badarpur-Kumarghat (412 Km.)    | 6,500               |
| DOUBLING         | DOUBLING                                                    |                     |
| 1.               | Lumding - Hojal (44.92 Km.)                                 | 410                 |
| 2.               | Digsaru- Hojal (102 Km.)                                    | 1,873.21            |
| 3.               | New Bongaigaon- Agthori via Rangiya (143 Km.)               | 2,048               |

Rail transport is inherently more environment friendly due to its lower carbon footprint, energy efficiency and reduced congestion as compared to roads. Not only does rail transport cost less than half of road transport, its carbon dioxide emissions are 90 percent less than road  transport.  Shifting  traffic  from  road  to  rail  is  helping  India

decarbonize its economy at scale. As compared to 2014 level, 2672 MT more freight has been shifted from road to rail which has resulted in saving 143.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. This itself is equivalent to planting more than 100 crore trees. Besides this, Indian Railways  undertakes  a  number  of  environmental  initiatives,  one  of which  is  tree  plantation.  During  the  last  5  years,  under  such  an initiative, Northeast Frontier Railway has planted more than 9 lakh tree saplings.

Due  to  floods,  landslides  etc  in  the  last  five  years,  some  damage  to railway tracks and structures took place in Northeast Frontier Railway which was assessed to be over ₹200 crore.

Geology of North Eastern Region is such that it is prone to landslides. This  geological  weakness  is  always  accounted  for  at  the  stage  of design  and implementation of Railway projects. Due care is  taken in planning and execution of works so that there is minimum damage to the sensitive geological formations of Eastern Himalayas.  To ensure that  this  is  achieved  in  a  scientific  manner,  Railway  has  undertaken studies and assessments of the environmental and geological impact of  railway  construction  in  the  North  Eastern  Region.  For  all  major Railway  projects  in  the  hilly  terrain  (for  example  those  in  Manipur, Mizoram,  Arunachal  Pradesh  and  Nagaland),  detailed  Geo-  technical investigations and Environmental Impact Assessments are carried out before  going  ahead  with  construction.  These  studies  specifically assess slope stability, rock and soil characteristics, vegetation cover and hydrological patterns.

Findings of these studies are used to anticipate the risk of landslides that  can  result  from  construction  activities.  To  mitigate  any  risk  of

landslide, and also to control soil erosion, slope stabilization measures by providing retaining walls, soil nailing, shotcrete and geo- synthetics in hilly terrain are adopted.  Plantation of grass and shrubs on slopes to stabilize loose soil is also done.  Construction of catch drains and check dams to guide and control debris flow has also been taken up. In addition, construction of embankments has been carried on to manage flow and prevent flooding. Tracks are constructed at higher elevations in  flood-prone  areas  to  avoid  inundation  with  provision  of  adequate culverts,  side  drains,  and  waterways  to  allow  smooth  discharge  of floodwaters.  Foundations  of  bridges  are  protected  from  scour  by providing  protection  measures.  Structures  have  been  constructed  in compliance  with  seismic  codes  to  ensure  mitigation  of  earthquakeinduced  damages.  Further,  to  avoid  disturbance  to  hill  slopes  in  the geologically weak formations in the North Eastern Region, underground tunnels have been built for railway tracks in the place of deep cuttings based on feasibility.

Indian Railways, in collaboration with Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Designers, Consultants and IITs, has conducted site-specific  vulnerability  assessments  in  the  North  East  Regions. These include surveys of track stability, bridge safety, slope protection,  and  seismic  risk  in  hilly  areas  like  Assam,  Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur. New railway projects  in this region are  being  designed  in  accordance  with  Indian  Railways  Standards Codes,  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards  (BIS)  Codes.  Special  attention  is given  to  design  of  bridges,  tunnels,  and  embankments  in  the  North Eastern Region.

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