Lok Sabha Question No. 1771 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-30
Subject: Focus Areas for Railway Upgradation
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Roopkumari Choudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1771

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025

## FOCUS AREAS FOR RAILWAY UPGRADATION

†1771. SMT. ROOPKUMARI CHOUDHARY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the key focus areas for railway upgradation in the country;
- (b) whether the primary objective of Indian Railways is to transport goods or to ensure the convenience of passengers and the general public and whether these requirements are included in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the convenience of the general public;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details of the number of such projects currently underway that have been specifically designed keeping in mind the convenience of passengers and the general public, State-wise?

## ANSWER

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

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (d):  Indian  Railways  functions  as  a  multipurpose  national  transporter with  equal  emphasis  on  the  transportation  of  freight  and  ensuring  the convenience  and  comfort  of  passengers  and  the  general  public.  The  key focus area includes capacity creation through expansion (Doubling, Tripling,

Gauge  conversion,  Electrification  etc.),  Station  development,  Road  Over Bridge  (ROB)  and  Road  Under  Bridge  (RUB),  New  trains,  High  powered locomotives etc.

-  New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling Projects-

During the last three years i.e. FY 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current FY,  237  projects  (40  New  Line,  17  Guage  Conversion  and  180  Doubling)  of total length 9,703 Km costing approx. Rs 1,90,333 Cr. have been sanctioned across  Indian  Railways.  Furthermore,  during  this  period  892  surveys  (267 New Line, 11 Guage Conversion & 614 Doubling) of total length 61,642 Km have been sanctioned for preparation of Detailed Project Report for meeting the transportation needs of passengers and freight traffic.

As on 01.04.25, across Indian Railways, 431 Railway Infrastructure projects (154 New Line, 33 Gauge Conversion and 244 Doubling) of total length 35,966 Km,  costing  approx  Rs  6.75  lakh  Cr.  are  sanctioned,  out  of  which,  Rs 12,769Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of approx. Rs 2.91 Lakh Cr. has been incurred upto March, 2025. The summary is as under:-

| Plan Head   | No of Projects   | Total Length NL/GC/DL (km)   | Length Commissioned till Mar'25 (Km)   | Balance length As on 01.04.25 (Km)   | Cost (Rs. Cr.)   | Total Exp upto Mar'25 (Rs. Cr)   |
|-------------|------------------|------------------------------|----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|------------------|----------------------------------|
| New lines   | 154              | 16,142                       | 3,036                                  | 13,105                               | 3,77,389         | 1,45,318                         |
| Gauge       | 33               | 4,180                        | 2,997                                  | 1,183                                | 43,820           | 22,753                           |
| conversion  |                  |                              |                                        |                                      |                  |                                  |
| Doubling    | 244              | 15 644                       | 6,736                                  | 8,909                                | 2,53,711         | 1,22,858                         |
| TOTAL       | 431              | 35,966                       | 12,769                                 | 23,197                               | 6,74,920         | 2,90,929                         |

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in budget allocation and  commensurate  commissioning  of  projects.  The  average  annual  budget allocation  for  New  Line,  Gauge  conversion  and  Doubling  projects  across Indian Railways is given below:-

| Period   | Outlay                         |
|----------|--------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | Rs. 11,527 Cr./year            |
| 2025-26  | Rs 68,785 Cr. (Nearly 6 times) |

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

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

##  Amrit Bharat Station Scheme:-

Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme  for development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve  the  amenities  at  the  stations  like  improvement  of  station  access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary. platform surfacing  and  cover  over  platform,  cleanliness,  free  Wi-Fi,  kiosks  for  local products through schemes like 'One Station One Product', better passenger information  systems,  executive  lounges,  nominated  spaces  for  business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station.

The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans,  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,  1,337  stations  have  been  identified  for  development  under  this scheme. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-l works of 105 stations have been completed. . Further, works have been taken up at 1109 stations. The works have been taken up at a good pace.

Development/upgradation of stations 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  stationwise or state-wise. A budget allocation of Rs 12,218 Crores has been made for the financial year 2025-26 under Plan Head-53.

-  Road Over Bridge (ROB) and Railway Under Bridge (RUB)

The numbers of ROBs/RUBs constructed on Indian Railways during the period 2004-14 vis-a-vis 2014-25 (upto June'25) are as under:

| Period                 | ROBs/RUBs constructed   |
|------------------------|-------------------------|
| 2004-14                | 4,148                   |
| 2014-25 (upto June'25) | 13,426                  |

As  on  01.04.2025,  4402  Nos.  ROBs/  RUBs  are  sanctioned  at  a  cost  of Rs.1,00,860 Crores on Indian Railways.

-  Locomotive Production:-

Locomotive  production  by  Indian  Railway  Production  Units  is  on    increase continuously.  The  production  units  have  turned  out  8040  locos  during  the period  2014-15 to 2023-24 (ten years) compared to 4497 during 2004-05 to 2013-14, which is an increase of 78.8%.

-  Introduction of New Train Sets :-

To enhance passenger experience and provide comfortable journey, State of the  Art  Vande  Bharat  trains  (144  train  services),  Amrit  Bharat  Trains  and Namo  Bharat  Rapid  Rail  with  modern  features  have  been  introduced  on Indian Railways.

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