Lok Sabha Question No. 2960 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-17
Subject: Programmes to improve Connectivity/Logistics/Passenger Safety
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Mani A

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2960 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.12.2025

## PROGRAMMES TO IMPROVE CONNECTIVITY/ LOGISTICS/ PASSENGER SAFETY

2960.  SHRI MANI A:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is prioritising semi-high-speed, freight and safety corridor proposals under national railway development  programmes  to  improve  connectivity,  logistics efficiency and passenger safety across the country including the State of Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  of  corridors  proposed  or  under  implementation  that directly or indirectly benefit the districts of Dharmapuri including
- their alignment, estimated cost and current status;
- (c) whether  feasibility  studies/surveys  have  been  conducted  to identify  potential  routes  for  semi-high-speed/freight  corridors  in these districts and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the  details  of  the  measures  being  taken  to  enhance  railway safety, modern signalling systems and track upgradation in the said districts; and
- (e) the  timeline  fixed  for  completion  of  ongoing  and  proposed corridor projects in Tamil Nadu?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (e):  Dharmapuri  is  an  existing  station  on  Indian  Railway Network.   To   further   improve   connectivity   in   Dharmapuri,  the ..P/2

## following works/surveys have been completed/taken up:

|   SN | Project                                           | Cost       | Status                      |
|------|---------------------------------------------------|------------|-----------------------------|
|    1 | Salem-Magnesite Junction- Omalur doubling (11 km) | ₹115 Cr.   | Project Completed           |
|    2 | Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km)              | ₹359 Cr.   | Land acquisition in process |
|    3 | Hosur-Omalur doubling (147 km)                    | ₹1,948 Cr. | DPR prepared                |

To improve the capacity, expansion of rail network has been taken up in a big way.

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)       |

Further,  as  on  01.04.2025,  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 crore are sanctioned. The summary is as under:-

| Category                 |   No of Projects | Total Length NL/GC/DL (km)   | Length Commissioned till Mar'25 (Km)   | Total Exp upto Mar'25 (Rs. in Cr)   |
|--------------------------|------------------|------------------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| New Lines                |              154 | 16,142                       | 3,036                                  | 1,45,318                            |
| Gauge Conversion         |               33 | 4,180                        | 2,997                                  | 22,753                              |
| Doubling / Multitracking |              244 | 15,644                       | 6,736                                  | 1,22,858                            |
| Total                    |              431 | 35,966                       | 12,769                                 | 2,90,929                            |

Railway  projects  are  surveyed/sanctioned/executed  Zonal  Railway wise and not State-wise/District wise as the Railway projects may span across State/district boundaries.

Zone-wise/year-wise details of all Railway projects are  made available in public domain on Indian Railway's website.

Also, during last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current  financial  year  2025-26,  952  no.  Surveys  (284  New  line,  13 Gauge Conversion and 655 Doubling) of total length 64,891 Km have been sanctioned across Indian Railways.

To facilitate construction and connectivity of new cargo terminals on  Indian  Railways  network,  which  will  bring  additional  cargo business to Railways, Gati-Shakti Multi Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT) policy was introduced in December' 2021.

So far, 120 GCTs locations have been commissioned and further 133 more locations are under various stages of construction over Indian Railways. Out of  these, 4  GCTs  have been  commissioned in Tamil Nadu and 3 more GCTs have been taken up in  Tamil Nadu.

## Safety Measures:-

As a consequence of various safety measures taken over the years, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents.

Number of Consequential Train Accidents has reduced as shown in the table below:-

| Year                | Consequential Accidents   |
|---------------------|---------------------------|
| 2014-15             | 135                       |
| 2025-26 (Till date) | 11 (90% lesser)           |

Another  important  index  showing  improvement  in  safety  in  train operations  is  Consequential  Accidents  Index,  the  details  of  which are as under:-

## Consequential Accident Index:-

| Year    | Accident Index    |
|---------|-------------------|
| 2014-15 | 0.11              |
| 2024-25 | 0.03 (73% lesser) |

This index measures number of consequential accidents as a ratio of total running Kilometers of all trains.

Index = No. of consequential accident No. of trains X million kilometers

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Safety  is  accorded  the  highest  priority  on  Indian  Railways.  The various safety measures taken to enhance safety in train operations are as under:-

1. On Indian Railways, the expenditure on Safety related activities has increased over the years as under:-

| Expenditure/Budget on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure/Budget on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure/Budget on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure/Budget on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure/Budget on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2013-14 (Act.)                                                 | 2022-23 (Act.)                                                 | 2023-24 (Act.)                                                 | 2024-25                                                        | 2025-26                                                        |
| 39,463                                                         | 87,327                                                         | 1,01,651                                                       | 1,14,022                                                       | 1,16,470                                                       |

2. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation  of  points  and  signals  have  been  provided  at  6,656 stations  up  to  31.10.2025  to  reduce  accidents  due  to  human failure.
3. Interlocking  of  Level  Crossing  (LC)  Gates  has  been  provided  at 10,098  Level  Crossing  Gates  up  to  31.10.2025  for  enhancing safety at LC Gates.
4. Complete  Track  Circuiting  of  stations  to  enhance  safety  by verification  of  track  occupancy  by  electrical  means  has  been provided at 6,661 stations up to 31.10.2025.
5. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety  certification  of  highest  order.  Kavach  was  adopted  as  a National ATP system in July 2020. Kavach is provided progressively in phased manner. Initially, Kavach Version 3.2 was deployed on 1465 RKm of South Central Railway and 80 RKm of North  Central  Railway.  Kavach  specification  Version  4.0  was approved by RDSO on 16.07.2024.

After  extensive  and  elaborate  trials,  Kavach  Version  4.0has been successfully commissioned on Palwal-Mathura-Kota- Nagda Bardhaman  section  (105  RKm)on  Delhi-Howrah  route.  Kavach section  (633 Rkm)  on  Delhi - Mumbai   route   and  on   Howrahimplementation  has  ben  taken  up  in  balance  sections  of  DelhiMumbai and Delhi-Howrah route.

Further, Kavach implementation has been taken up on 15,512 RKm covering all GQ, GD, HDN and identified sections of Indian Railways.

6. Detailed instructions on issues related with safety of Signalling, e.g. mandatory correspondence check, alteration work protocol, preparation of completion drawing, etc. have been issued.
7. System of disconnection and reconnection for S&T equipment as per protocol has been re-emphasized.
8. All  locomotives  are  equipped  with  Vigilance  Control  Devices (VCD) to improve alertness of Loco Pilots.
9. Retro-reflective sigma boards are provided on the mast which is located  two  OHE  masts  prior  to the signals in electrified territories  to  alert  the  crew  about  the  signal  ahead  when visibility is low due to foggy weather.
10. A GPS based Fog Safety Device (FSD) is provided to loco pilots in  fog  affected  areas  which  enables  loco  pilots  to  know  the distance of the approaching landmarks like signals, level crossing gates, etc.
11. Modern track structure consisting of 60kg, 90 Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Prestressed Concrete Sleeper (PSC) Normal/Wide  base  sleepers  with  elastic  fastening,  fan  shaped layout turnout on PSC sleepers, Steel Channel/H-beam Sleepers on  girder  bridges  is  used  while  carrying  out  primary  track renewals.
12. Mechanisation  of  track  laying  activity  through  use  of  track
8. machines like PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc. to reduce human errors.
13. Maximizing supply of 130m/260m long rail panels for increasing progress of rail renewal and avoiding welding of joints, thereby improving safety.

14. Ultrasonic Flaw Detection (USFD) testing of rails to detect flaws
2. and timely removal of defective rails.
15. Laying  of  longer  rails,  minimizing  the  use  of  Alumino  Thermic Welding and adoption of better welding technology for rails i.e., Flash Butt Welding.
16. Monitoring  of  track  geometry  by  OMS  (Oscillation  Monitoring System) and TRC (Track Recording Cars).
17. Patrolling of railway tracks to look out for weld/rail fractures.
18. The use of Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossing in turnout renewal works.
19. Inspections at regular intervals are carried out to monitor and educate staff for observance of safe practices.
20. Web based online monitoring system of track assets viz. Track database  and  decision  support  system  has  been  adopted  to decide rationalized maintenance requirement and optimize
9. inputs.
21. Detailed instructions on issues related with safety of Track, e.g. integrated block, corridor block, worksite safety,  monsoon precautions, etc. have been issued.
22. Preventive maintenance of railway assets (Coaches & Wagons) is undertaken to ensure safe train operations.
23. Replacement  of  conventional  ICF  design  coaches  with  LHB design coaches is being done.
13. All  unmanned  level  crossings  (UMLCs)  on  Broad  Gauge  (BG)
24. route have been eliminated by January 2019.

25. Safety of Railway Bridges is ensured through regular inspection of Bridges. The requirement of repair/rehabilitation of Bridges is taken  up  based  upon  the  conditions  assessed  during  these inspections.
26. Indian  Railways  has  displayed  Statutory  'Fire  Notices'  for widespread  passenger  information  in  all  coaches.  Fire  posters are provided in every coach  so as to educate  and alert passengers  regarding  various  Do's  and  Don'ts  to  prevent  fire. These include messages regarding not carrying any inflammable material, explosives, prohibition of smoking inside the coaches,
3. penalties etc.
27. Production  Units  are  providing  Fire  detection  and  suppression system in newly manufactured Power Cars and Pantry Cars, Fire and  Smoke  detection  system  in  newly  manufactured  coaches. Progressive  fitment  of  the  same  in  existing  coaches  is  also underway by Zonal Railways in a phased manner.
28. Regular counselling and training of staff is undertaken.
29. Concept  of  Rolling  Block  introduced  in  Indian  Railways  (Open Lines) General Rules vide Gazette notification dated 30.11.2023, wherein  work of  integrated  maintenance/  repair/replacement  of assets is planned up to 52 weeks in advance on rolling basis and executed as per plan.

The  details of the Safety related works  related  to better maintenance practices, Technological improvements, better infrastructure  and  rolling  stock  etc.  undertaken  by  Railways  are tabulated below:-

| SN                           | Item                                                      | 2004-05 to 2013-14           | 2014-15 to 2024-25           | 2014-25 Vs. 2004-14          |
|------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|
|                              | Technological Improvements                                | Technological Improvements   | Technological Improvements   | Technological Improvements   |
| 1.                           | Use of high-quality rails (60 Kg) (Km)                    | 57,450 Km                    | 1.43 Lakh Km                 | More than 2 times            |
| 2.                           | Longer Rail Panels (260m) (Km)                            | 9,917 Km                     | 77,522 Km                    | Nearly 8 times               |
| 3.                           | Electronic Interlocking (Stations)                        | 837 Stations                 | 3,691 Stations               | More than 4 times            |
| 4.                           | Fog Pass Safety Devices (Nos.)                            | As on 31.03.14: 90 Nos.      | As on 31.03.25: 25,939 Nos.  | 288 times                    |
| 5.                           | Thick Web Switches (Nos.)                                 | Nil                          | 28,301 Nos.                  |                              |
| Better Maintenance Practices | Better Maintenance Practices                              | Better Maintenance Practices | Better Maintenance Practices | Better Maintenance Practices |
| 1.                           | Primary Rail Renewal (Track Km)                           | 32,260 Km                    | 49,941 Km                    | 1.5 times                    |
| 2.                           | USFD (Ultra Sonic Flaw detection) Testing of Welds (Nos.) | 79.43 Lakh                   | 2 Crore                      | More than 2 times            |
| 3.                           | Weld failures (Nos.)                                      | In 2013-14: 3699 Nos.        | In 2024-25: 370 Nos.         | 90 % reduction               |
| 4.                           | Rail fractures (Nos.)                                     | In 2013-14: 2548 Nos.        | In 2024-25: 289 Nos.         | More than 88% reduction      |

..P/11

|    | Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock   | Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock   | Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock         | Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock   |
|----|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
|  1 | New Track KM added (Track Km)             | 14,985 Km                                 | 34,428 Km                                       | More than 2 times                         |
|  2 | Flyovers (RoBs)/Underpasses (RUBs) (Nos.) | 4,148 Nos.                                | 13,808 Nos.                                     | More than 3 times                         |
|  3 | Unmanned Level crossings (Nos.) on BG     | As on 31.03.14: 8,948                     | As on 31.03.24:Nil (All eliminated by 31.01.19) | Removed                                   |
|  4 | Manufacture of LHB Coaches (Nos.)         | 2,337 Nos.                                | 42,677                                          | More than 18 times                        |

## Tamil Nadu

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

| Period   | Outlay                              |
|----------|-------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹879 crore/year                     |
| 2025-26  | ₹ 6,626 crore (more than 7.5 times) |

As on 01.04.2025, 15 projects (9 new line, 03 gauge conversion and 03  doubling)  of  1,700  km  length,  costing  ₹22,808  Crore,  falling fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu,  are  sanctioned.    The summary is as under:-

| Category                |   No. of sanctioned projects | Total Length (in km)   |   Length Commissioned upto Mar'25 (in km) | Expenditure upto Mar' 25 (₹ in Cr.)   |
|-------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| New Line                |                            9 | 812                    |                                        24 | 1,337                                 |
| Gauge Conversion        |                            3 | 748                    |                                       604 | 3,471                                 |
| Doubling /Multitracking |                            3 | 140                    |                                        37 | 2,783                                 |
| Total                   |                           15 | 1,700                  |                                       665 | 7,591                                 |

Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Tamil Nadu are as under :

|   SN | Project                                                       | Cost (₹in Crores)   |
|------|---------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|    1 | Dindigal-Palani-Pollachi gauge conversion (121 km)            | 610                 |
|    2 | Pollachi-Palghat gauge conversion (56 km)                     | 350                 |
|    3 | Pollachi-Podhanur gauge conversion (40 km)                    | 400                 |
|    4 | Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur gauge conversion (357 km)      | 1,122               |
|    5 | Mayiladuturai-Thiruvarur-Karaikkudi gauge conversion (187 km) | 1,338               |
|    6 | Madurai-Bodiyakannur gauge conversion (90 km)                 | 593                 |
|    7 | Chengalpattu-Villupuram doubling (102 km)                     | 670                 |
|    8 | Tiruvallur-Arakkonam 4th line (27 km)                         | 83                  |

..P/13

|   SN | Project                                                              | Cost (₹in Crores)   |
|------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|    9 | Chennai Central-Basin Bridge doubling (2 km)                         | 31                  |
|   10 | Thanjavur-Ponmalai doubling (48 km)                                  | 370                 |
|   11 | Villupuram-Dindigul doubling (273 km)                                | 2,000               |
|   12 | Chennai Beach-Korukkupet 3rd line (5 km)                             | 168                 |
|   13 | Chennai Beach-Attipattu 4th line (22 km)                             | 293                 |
|   14 | Omalur-Metturdam Patch doubling (29 km)                              | 327                 |
|   15 | Chengalpattu-Villupuram and Tambaram- Chengalpattu-3rd line (133 km) | 1,122               |
|   16 | Salem-Magnesite Junction-Omalur doubling (11 km)                     | 115                 |
|   17 | Madurai- Maniyachi-Tuticorin doubling (160 km)                       | 1,891               |
|   18 | Maniyachi-Nagercoil doubling (102 km)                                | 1,752               |
|   19 | Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore doubling (4 km)                         | 272                 |
|   20 | Karaikal-Peralam new line (23 km)                                    | 373                 |
|   21 | Northern End Port connectivity to Karaikal Port (1                   | 18                  |

## Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu which have been taken up are as under:

|   S.N | Project                                      | Cost (₹ in Crores)   |
|-------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------|
|     1 | Tindivanam-Nagari new line (184 km)          | 3,631                |
|     2 | Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km)         | 359                  |
|     3 | Nagapattinam-Tiruturaipundi new line (43 km) | 742                  |
|     4 | Trivandrum-Kanyakumari doubling (87 km)      | 3,785                |
|     5 | Arakkonam yard 3rd & 4th line (6 km)         | 98                   |

In  last  three  years  i.e.  2022-23,  2023-24,  2024-25  and  current financial  year  2025-26,  28  surveys  (05  new  line  and  23  doubling) covering  a  total  length  of  2,493 km  has been  sanctioned  falling ..P/14

fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu  including  a  survey  for Chennai- Bengaluru (350 km) having speed potential upto 220 kmph.

Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in Tamil Nadu is as under:

| Total Land required for Projects in Tamil Nadu   | 4,326 ha       |
|--------------------------------------------------|----------------|
| Land Acquired                                    | 1,052 ha (24%) |
| Balance Land to be acquired                      | 3,274 ha (76%) |

Support of the Government of Tamil Nadu is needed to expedite the land acquisition.

Details  of  some  major  projects  which  are  delayed  due  to  land acquisition are as under:-

|   SN | Name of the project                         |   Total land required (in ha) |   Land acquired (in ha) |   Balance Land to be acquired (in ha) |
|------|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|    1 | Tindivanam- Tiruvannamalai new line (71 km) |                           276 |                      33 |                                   243 |
|    2 | Attiputtu-Puttur new line (88 km)           |                           189 |                       0 |                                   189 |
|    3 | Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km)        |                            92 |                      45 |                                    47 |
|    4 | Mannargudi-Pattukkottai new line (41 km)    |                           196 |                       0 |                                   196 |

..P/15

|   SN | Name of the project                    |   Total land required (in ha) |   Land acquired (in ha) |   Balance Land to be acquired (in ha) |
|------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|    5 | Thanjavur-Pattukottai new line (52 km) |                           152 |                       0 |                                   152 |

Further,  Rameshwaram  -  Dhanushkodi  new  line  (18  km)  was sanctioned at a cost of ₹734 Cr. The Foundation Stone of the project was laid on 01.03.2019. However, the project could not be started because the land acquisition has not been undertaken by the State Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

Government  of  India  is  geared  up  to  execute  projects,  however success depends upon the support of Government of Tamil Nadu.

Sanction of any railway project depend upon many parameters/factors which include the following:

-  Anticipated  traffic  projections  and  remunerativeness  of  the proposed route
-  First and last mile connectivity provided by the project
-  Connection of missing links and providing additional route
-  Augmentation of congested/saturated lines
-  Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives
-  Railway's operational requirements
-  Socio-economic considerations
-  Overall availability of funds

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