Lok Sabha Question No. 1538 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-31
Subject: Incomplete/Pending Railway Projects in Budelkhand
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Ujjwal Raman Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1538 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31.07.2024

## INCOMPLETE/PENDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN BUNDELKHAND

†1538. SHRI UJJWAL RAMAN SINGH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it  is a  fact  that  a  number  of  railway  projects  are  lying incomplete/pending for the last several years in many States of the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  many  projects  in  Bundelkhand  are  lying  pending  for years  attributing  to  lack  of  funds  due  to  which  the  work  on incomplete  projects  is  not  gaining  momentum  and  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  incomplete  projects  which  are  proposed  to  be completed include construction of under bridges at 11 crossings on Manikpur-Allahabad route, installation of colour light signals at five  stations  on  the  Banda-Manikpur  route,  construction  of  18 underground road bridges on the Khairada-Ingohata route, reconstruction  of  the  Hamirpur-Ghatampur bridge  and raising of the railway track and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the  details  of  time  period  by  which  these  incomplete/pending railway projects are likely to be completed?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1538 BY SHRI UJJWAL RAMAN SINGH TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 31.07.2024 REGARDING INCOMPLETE/PENDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN BUNDELKHAND

(a) to (d): The Railway projects are sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway  wise  and  not  State-wise/  district  wise/region  wise  as  the Railways' projects may span across state boundaries.

As on 01.04.2024, across Indian Railways including Bundelkhand, 488 Railway Infrastructure projects (187 New Line, 40 Gauge Conversion and  261  Doubling)  of  total  length  44,488  Km,  costing approx. 7.44 lakh  crore  are  in  planning/approval/construction  stage,  out  of  which, 12,045  Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of approx.  2.92 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2024.

Zone-wise/year-wise  details  of  all  Railway  Projects  including  cost, expenditure and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railways website.

The Average Annual Budget allocation for New Line, Gauge Conversion  and  Doubling  Projects  across  Indian  Railways  is  given below:

| Period   | Average Outlay    | Increase w.r.t. average allocation of 2009-14   |
|----------|-------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 11,527 crore/year | -                                               |
| 2024-25  | 68,634 crore      | Nearly 6 times                                  |

The  details  of  commissioning  of  New  Lines,  Gauge  Conversion  and Doubling sections across Indian Railways is given below:-

In 2023-24, 5,309 km sections have been commissioned across Indian Railways including Bundelkhand.

| Period   | Total Length Commissioned   | Average Length Commissioned   | Increase w.r.t. average commissioning during 2009-14   |
|----------|-----------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 7,599 km                    | 4.2 km/day                    | -                                                      |
| 2014-24  | 31,180 km                   | 8.54 km/day                   | More than 2 times                                      |

Moreover,  in  major  projects  passing  through  Bundelkhand  region, sufficient  budget  allocation  have  been  provided  in  FY  2024-25  also, such as Jhansi-Khairar-Manikpur-Bhimsen doubling ( 900 Crore), Jhansi-Mathura  3 rd   line  ( 366  Crore)  and  Lalitpur-Singrauli  new  line ( 850  Crore).  Colour  Light  Signaling  is  already  provided  in  BandaManikpur section of Jhansi division.

The completion of any Railway project(s) 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. and all these factors affect the completion time of the project(s).

Sanctioning  of  works  of  Road  over  Bridge  (ROB)/Road  under  Bridge (RUB)  in  lieu  of  level  crossing  (LC)  is  a  continuous  and  dynamic process of Indian Railways. Such works are taken up in phases on the basis of its impact on safety in train operations, mobility of trains & impact for road users and feasibility etc. There are 11 Nos. of Level Crossings (LCs) on Manikpur-Allahabad section and 18 Nos. of Level Crossings  (LCs)  on  Jhansi-Khairar-Igohata  section,  out  of  which,  01 No. of Road Under Bridge (RUB) and 15 Nos. of ROB/ RUB have been completed in  Manikpur-Allahabad  and  Jhansi-Khairar-Igohata  section respectively.  Remaining  works  are  at  various  stages  of  planning, estimation & execution.

There is a well established system of inspection of railway bridges on Indian  Railways.  All  the  railway  bridges  are  inspected  twice  a  year, one before the onset of monsoon and one detailed inspection after the monsoon. In addition, certain railway bridges are also inspected more frequently  depending  upon  their  condition.  Repair  /  strengthening  / rehabilitation / rebuilding of  railway bridges is undertaken whenever so warranted by their physical condition as ascertained during these inspections. All railway bridges are safe in the Hamirpur - Ghatampur section for train movement at permitted speed.

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