Lok Sabha Question No. 396 (STARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Railway Connectivity to Bageshwar District
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Ajay Bhatt

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 396 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025

## RAILWAY CONNECTIVITY TO BAGESHWAR DISTRICT

## †*396.  SHRI AJAY BHATT:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has planned any railway project to connect Bageshwar district to the rail network;
- (b) if  so,  the  present  status,  estimated  cost  and  time  schedule thereof; and
- (c) if  not, whether the Government proposes to make any action plan in this regard in the near future?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 396 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025

(a) to (c): The    field    survey    for    Tanakpur-Bageshwar    New    Line (170 Km) has been completed and Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been  prepared.  As  per  the  DPR,  the  cost  of  the  project  has  been assessed as ₹48,692 Cr. The project has low traffic projections.

After  firming  up  of  Detailed  Project  Report  (DPR),  sanctioning  of project  requires  consultation  with  various  stake-holders  including State  Governments  and  necessary  approvals  viz.  appraisal  of  NITI Aayog,  Ministry  of  Finance  etc.  As  sanctioning  of  projects  is  a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed.

## Uttarakhand:

Budget  allocation  in  the  recent  years  has  increased  significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Uttarakhand is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                         |
|----------|--------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹187 Crore/year                |
| 2025-26  | ₹4,641 Crore (nearly 25 times) |

As  on  01.04.2025,  03  New  Lines,  covering  total  length  of  216  Km costing  ₹40,384  crore  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Uttarakhand are sanctioned.  The summary is as under:-

| Category   |   No. of sanctioned projects |   Total Length (Km) |   Length Commissioned Upto Mar'25 (Km) | Exp. upto Mar'25 (Rs. in Cr.)   |
|------------|------------------------------|---------------------|----------------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| New Line   |                           03 |                 216 |                                     16 | 19,898                          |

The  status  of  major  projects  falling  fully/partly in  the State  of

Uttarakhand is as under:

-  Recently,  Deoband-Roorkee  new  line  project  (27  Km)  has  been completed.  It  will  reduce  the  distance  between  Delhi  and Dehradun by approx. 40 Km.
-  Rishikesh-Karnaprayag  new  rail  line  project  (125  Km)  is  an important project of Indian Railways which lies completely in the State of Uttarakhand. It passes through difficult geological and challenging terrain of Himalayas.  This  project is  aimed  at transforming connectivity in Uttarakhand. The project alignment passes through Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudra Prayag and Chamoli Districts of Uttarakhand and will provide rail connectivity to Devprayag and Karnaprayag religious and tourist spots with Rishikesh and National Capital of India.

The  project    involves    construction  of  16  main  line  tunnels  of 105 Km length and 12 escape tunnels of about 98 Km length. So far,  13  main  line  tunnels  and  9  escape  tunnels  have  been completed.  Works  of  all  8  Adits  have  also  been  completed. Tunneling  of  199  Km  against  total  scope  of  213  Km  has  been completed.

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.

Station development projects in the State of Uttarakhand:

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.

11  stations  in  the  State  of  Uttarakhand  have  been  identified  for development under this scheme. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the State of Uttarakhand are as following:

| State       |   No. of Amrit Stations | Names of Amrit Stations                                                                         | Names of Amrit Stations   |
|-------------|-------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| Uttarakhand |                      11 | Dehradun, Haridwar Harrawala, Kashipur Kathgodam, Kichha, Kotdwar, Kuan Jn., Ramnagar, Tanakpur | Jn., Jn., Lal Roorkee,    |

Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the State of Uttarakhand have been taken up at a good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:

-  Kathgodam station: The works of improvement of waiting rooms, toilet block and entrance lobby have been completed. The works of  lifts,  improvement  of  circulating  area,  approach  roads  and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up.
-  Kashipur  Junction  station:  The  work  of  modern  toilet  block, improvement of circulating area, parking, construction of porch, platform raising and surfacing have been completed. The work of improvement of station building, Divyangjan facilities and lift have been taken up.

-  Lal  Kuan  Junction  station:  The  work  of  platform  raising  and surfacing,  improvement  of  circulating  area  and  parking,  water booths,  signage,  lighting,  improvement  of  station  building  have been  completed.  The  work  of  12  m  Foot  Over  Bridge  and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up.
-  Ramnagar station:  The  work  of  toilet  block,  improvement  of  old station  building,  waiting  room,  construction  of  porch,  raising  of platform,  extension  of  Passenger  Reservation  System  building, development of circulating area, new platform shelter, signages, lighting,  landscaping,  tactile  pathways,  water  booth,  low  height ticket  counter  and  parking  have  been  completed.  The  work  of finishing has been taken up.
-  Tanakpur station: The works of improvement of station building, waiting  room,  circulating  area,  parking  area,  toilet,  platform shelters have been completed. The works of platforms shed, lift, signage, lighting and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up.

## ROBs/RUBs in the State of Uttarakhand:

To  improve  safety  in  train  operations  and  mobility  of  road  users, Road Over Bridges/ Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) are constructed  in  lieu  of  Level  Crossings  (LCs)  etc.  During  2014-25, 106 ROBs/RUBs have been constructed in the State of Uttarakhand.

Further, as on 01.04.2025, 9 ROBs/RUBs at cost of ₹158 crore have been sanctioned in the State of Uttarakhand which are at various stages of planning and execution.

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