Lok Sabha Question No. 2998 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Rail Connectivity to Tribal/Remote District of Maharashtra
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare

§

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2998 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026

## RAIL CONNECTIVITY TO TRIBAL/REMOTE DISTRICT OF MAHARASHTRA

2998. SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it is a fact that several tribal and  remote  districts  of Maharashtra continue to suffer from inadequate railway connectivity;
- (b) if so, the names of such unserved and underserved tribal districts;
- (c) whether any time-bound action plan has been formulated to improve rail connectivity in these districts through new lines, doubling, electrification or gauge conversion and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  proposals  for  railway  expansion  or  upgradation  in  tribal  and backward regions have been received from the Government of Maharashtra  and  if  so,  the  details  including  the  present  status  of approval and execution of such proposals;
- (e)  the  district-wise  status  of  ongoing  railway  projects  in  tribal  areas  of Maharashtra including physical/financial progress and reasons for delays;
- (f)  whether  specific  completion  deadlines  have  been  fixed  for  projects  in tribal districts and if so, the details thereof; and

- (g)  the  details  of  the  steps  taken  to  address  persistent  land  acquisition delays, funding constraints and cost overruns?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  to  (g):  Budget  allocation  during  the  last  five  years  has  increased significantly. Budget  allocation for infrastructure projects and  safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                             |
|----------|------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹1,171 crore/year                  |
| 2025-26  | ₹23,778 crore (More than 20 times) |

Track Construction:

The  details  of  constructing  new  track  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of Maharashtra during 2009-14 and 2014-25 is as under:

| Period   | New track Commissioned   | Average commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 292 Km                   | 58.4 Km/year                          |
| 2014-25  | 2,292 Km                 | 208.4 Km/year (More than 3 times)     |

Projects sanctioned:

As on 01.04.2025, 38 projects (11 New Lines, 02 Gauge Conversion and 25 Doubling),  of  a  total  length  of  5,098  km,  costing  ₹89,780  crore,  falling fully/partly in Maharashtra, including remote and tribal areas, are sanctioned. The summary is as under:-

| Category                |   No. of sanctioned Projects | Total Length (in Km)   | Length Commissioned Upto Mar'25 (Km)   | Exp. upto Mar'25 (₹ in Cr.)   |
|-------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| New Line                |                           11 | 1,355                  | 234                                    | 10,504                        |
| Gauge Conversion        |                           02 | 609                    | 334                                    | 4,286                         |
| Doubling/ Multitracking |                           25 | 3,134                  | 1,792                                  | 24,617                        |
| Total                   |                           38 | 5,098                  | 2,360                                  | 39,407                        |

Recently completed projects:

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

|   S.No. | Project                                     | Cost (₹ in crore)   |
|---------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|       1 | Pune-Miraj-Londa Doubling (467 Km)          | 4,670               |
|       2 | Jabalpur-Gondia Gauge Conversion (300 Km)   | 2,005               |
|       3 | Chhindwara-Nagpur Gauge Conversion (150 Km) | 1,512               |
|       4 | Panvel-Pen Doubling (35 Km)                 | 263                 |
|       5 | Pen-Roha Doubling (40 Km)                   | 330                 |
|       6 | Udhna-Jalgaon Doubling (307 Km)             | 2,448               |
|       7 | Mudkhed-Parbhani Doubling (81 Km)           | 673                 |
|       8 | Bhusawal-Jalgaon 3rd Line (24 Km)           | 325                 |
|       9 | Jalgaon-Bhusawal 4th Line (24 Km)           | 261                 |
|      10 | Daund-Gulbarga Doubling (225 Km)            | 3,182               |

Ongoing Projects:

To further improve the Railway Infrastructure in the state of Maharashtra, following works have been taken up:-

|   S.No. | Name of the project                                            | Cost (₹ In crore)   |
|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|       1 | Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar)-Beed-Parli Vaijnath New Line (261 Km) | 4,957               |
|       2 | Baramati-Lonand New Line (64 Km)                               | 1,844               |
|       3 | Wardha-Nanded New Line (284 Km)                                | 3,445               |
|       4 | Indore-Manmad New Line (360 Km)                                | 18,529              |
|       5 | Wadsa-Gadchiroli New Line (52 Km)                              | 1,886               |
|       6 | Jalna-Jalgaon New Line (174 Km)                                | 5,804               |
|       7 | Daund-Manmad Doubling (236 Km)                                 | 3,037               |
|       8 | Kalyan-Kasara 3rd Line (68 Km)                                 | 1,433               |
|       9 | Wardha-Nagpur 3rd Line (76 Km)                                 | 698                 |
|      10 | Wardha-Ballarshah 3rd Line (132 Km)                            | 1,385               |
|      11 | Itarsi-Nagpur 3rd Line (280 Km)                                | 2,450               |
|      12 | Rajnandgaon-Nagpur 3rd Line (228 Km)                           | 3,545               |
|      13 | Wardha-Nagpur 4th Line (79 Km)                                 | 1,137               |
|      14 | Jalgaon-Manmad 4th Line (160 Km)                               | 2,574               |
|      15 | Bhusawal-Khandwa 3rd & 4th Line (131 Km)                       | 3,285               |
|      16 | Solapur-Tuljapur-Osmanabad New Line (95 Km)                    | 2,933               |
|      17 | Panvel-Chowk Double Line (17 Km)                               | 491                 |
|      18 | Wardha-Balharshah 4th Line (135 Km)                            | 2,226               |
|      19 | Itarsi-Nagpur 4th Line (297 Km)                                | 5,010               |
|      20 | Wardha-Bhusawal 3rd & 4th Line (314 Km)                        | 9,197               |
|      21 | Asangaon-Kasara 4th Line (35 Km)                               | 794                 |

|   S.No. | Name of the project                    | Cost (₹ In crore)   |
|---------|----------------------------------------|---------------------|
|      22 | Badlapur-Karjat 3rd & 4th Line (32 Km) | 1,324               |
|      23 | Gondia-Dongargarh 4th Line (84 Km)     | 2,223               |
|      24 | Gondia-Balharshah Doubling (240 Km)    | 4,819               |

Construction  works  on  the  flagship  High  speed  bullet  train  project  have gathered momentum in Maharashtra. Now 100% land acquisition has been completed. Works of bridges, aqueducts etc. have been taken up.

## Bullet Train project:

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508 km) is the only  HSR  Project  under  execution.  The  Project  is  passing  through  the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli with 12 stations planned at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.

Entire land (1389.5 Ha.) for MAHSR project has been acquired. All Statutory Clearances have been obtained.  All 1651 utilities have been shifted. The delay  in  land  acquisition  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra  has  impacted  the project till 2021. The land acquisition picked up in 2022 in Maharashtra.

The progress of various major items so far is as under:

Gujarat (352 KM):

| Item           | Progress   |
|----------------|------------|
| Foundation     | 352 kms.   |
| Piers          | 352 kms.   |
| Girder Casting | 342 kms.   |

| Girder Launching       | 331 kms.   |
|------------------------|------------|
| Track Bed Construction | 152 kms.   |
| OHE Masts Erection     | 121 kms.   |

## Maharashtra (156 KM):

| Item             | Progress   |
|------------------|------------|
| Foundation       | 77 kms.    |
| Piers            | 67 kms.    |
| Girder Casting   | 9 kms.     |
| Girder Launching | 3 kms.     |

Out of total 12 stations, foundation works has been completed at 8 stations (Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Anand, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati).  In  Maharashtra  section,  foundation  work  is  in  progress  at  3 stations (Thane, Virar, Boisar) and excavation work at BKC station is near completion and Casting of base slab started.

17 river bridges have been completed. Work is in advance stage for 4 major river bridges (Narmada, Mahi, Tapti and Sabarmati) in Gujarat & in progress in  4  river  bridges  in  Maharashtra.  Work  on  Depots  (Thane,  Surat  and Sabarmati) is in full swing.

Civil works at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) are progressing satisfactorily. Excavation  works  have  achieved  about  91%  progress,  and  concreting works are at various stages, with 100% completion of the basement slab at Level-4.  The  work  of  the  under-sea  tunnel  (approximately  21  km)  has commenced, out of which 4.8 km of tunnel between Ghansoli and Shilphata in Maharashtra has been completed.

To ensure seamless passenger connectivity, the Government has planned multi-modal  integration  of  Bullet  Train  stations  with  the  existing  Mumbai suburban  railway  network  and  upcoming  metro  lines.  The  integration includes  passenger  connectivity  with  Metro  Line-2B  and  Metro  Line-3 through convenient pedestrian access at BKC station.

Bullet  train  project  is  a  very  complex  and  technology  intensive  Project. Exact  timelines  for  the  completion  of  the  project  can  be  reasonably ascertained after the completion of all associated works of Civil Structures, Track, Electrical, Signaling& Telecommunication and supply of Trainsets.

## Dedicated freight corridor:

Western  DFC  also  passes  through  Maharashtra.  About  178  route  Km  of western  DFC  is  situated  in  Maharashtra  which  is  about  12%  of  overall route length of western DFC. 76 Km of this project from New Gholvad to New  Vaitarna  in  Maharashtra  has  already  been  commissioned.  Balance works have been taken up. Connectivity of WDFC to JNPT will boost the capacity to handle cargo and container traffic from port to Delhi NCR.

## Increasing train handling capacity in Mumbai area:

Presently,  about  120  originating  Mail/Express  trains  and  about  3200  sub urban trains are handled daily in Mumbai area. To increase train handling capacity  at  various  stations  in  Mumbai  area,  following  works  have  been completed/taken up/planned at various stations:

|   SN | Location        | Details                               |
|------|-----------------|---------------------------------------|
|    1 | Bandra Terminus | 3 Pit Lines have been completed       |
|    2 | Mumbai Central  | Platform extension for 24 LHB coaches |
|    3 | Jogeshwari      | 2 additional platforms                |

|   SN | Location         | Details                                       |
|------|------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
|    4 | Dadar            | 1 additional platform                         |
|    5 | Vasai road       | 6 platforms, 3 pit lines and 5 stabling lines |
|    6 | Panvel-Kalamboli | 5 platforms , 4 pit lines and 2 sick lines    |
|    7 | Kalyan           | 6 platforms and 4 pit lines                   |
|    8 | LTT              | 4 platforms and 2 pit lines                   |
|    9 | Parel            | 6 platforms, 5 pit lines, 6 stabling lines    |
|   10 | Virar            | 25 stabling lines                             |
|   11 | Dahanu road      | 11 stabling lines                             |
|   12 | Mira road        | 25 stabling lines                             |

In addition to above, Platform extension work at 34 stations to accommodate 15 car EMUs have been taken up.

Capacity Augmentation works for Pune Area:

Presently,  about  33  originating  Mail/Express  trains  are  handled  daily  in Pune area.

To  increase  train  handling  capacity  at  various  stations  in  Pune  area, following works have been completed/taken up/planned at various stations:

|   SN | Location      | Details                                                                                |
|------|---------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | Pune Junction | 6 additional Platforms and Extension of 5 Platforms.                                   |
|    2 | Hadapsar      | Extension of 3 Platforms to handle full length trains.                                 |
|    3 | Khadki        | Raising and Extension of PF-3/4 and extension of running lines completed in July'2025. |
|    4 | Alandi        | New Coaching Terminal with 9 additional Platforms, 8 pit lines and 8 stabling lines    |
|    5 | Phursungi     | 5 Stabling Lines at Phursungi                                                          |

In  addition  to  above,  following  capacity  additional  works  have  been undertaken in Pune Area to increase the train handling capacity:

|   SN | Name of Project                                                                               |
|------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 3 rd Line between Hadapsar and Ghorpuri Yard                                                  |
|    2 | New Block station at Manjari Bhadrukin Pune-Daund Section and Ramtekdi in Pune-Sasvad section |
|    3 | Bidirectional Signalling in Pune Sasvad Road Section                                          |

Further, during  the last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current  financial  year  2025-26,  98  surveys  (29  New  Line,  2  Gauge Conversion and 67 Doubling) of total length 8,615 Km falling fully/ partly in the State of Maharashtra, have been sanctioned.

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:

-  Land acquisition
-  Forest clearance
-  Shifting of infringing utilities
-  Statutory clearances from various authorities
-  Geological and topographical conditions of area
-  Law and order situation in the area of project site
-  Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.

Sanction  of  any  railway  project  depends  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 own operational requirements
-  Socio-economic considerations
-  Overall availability of funds

Various steps taken by the Government for effective and speedy implementation of rail projects include:

-  Substantial increase in allocation of funds.
-  Delegation of powers at field level.
-  Close monitoring of progress of project at various levels.
-  Regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects.

## AMRIT BHARAT STATIONS IN MAHARASHTRA:-

Ministry  of  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.

So  far,  1337  stations  have  been  identified  for  development  under  this scheme, out of which 132 stationsare located in Maharashtra. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Maharashtra are as following:

| State       |   No. of Stations | Name of Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|-------------|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Maharashtra |               132 | Ahmednagar, Ajni (Nagpur), Akalkot Road, Akola, Akurdi, Amalner, Amgaon, Amravati, Andheri, Badnera, Balharshah, Bandra Terminus, Baramati, Belapur, Bhandara Road, Bhokar, Bhusawal, Borivali, Byculla, Chalisgaon, Chanda Fort, Chandrapur, Charni Road, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Chinchpokli, Chinchwad, Dadar (CR), Dadar (WR), Dahisar, Daund, Dehu Road, Devlali, Dhamangaon, Dharangaon, Dharashiv, Dharmabad , Dhule, Diva, Dudhani, Gangakher , Godhani, Gondia, Grant Road, Hadapsar, Hatkanangale, Hazur Sahib Nanded, Himayatnagar, Hinganghat, Hingoli Deccan, Igatpuri, Jalgaon, Jalna, Jeur, Jogeshwari, Kalyan Jn, Kamptee, Kandivali, Kanjur Marg, Karad, Katol, Kedgaon, Kinwat ,Kopargaon, Kurduwadi Jn, Kurla Jn, Lasalgaon, Latur, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Lonand Jn, Lonavla, Lower Parel, Malad, Malkapur, Manmad Jn, Manwath Road , Marine Lines, Matunga, Miraj Jn, Mudkhed Jn, Mumbai Central, Mumbra, Murtizapur Jn, Nagasarol, Nagpur Jn, Nandgaon, Nandura, Nandurbar, Narkher Jn, Nashik Road, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Junction, Pachora Jn, Palghar, Pandharpur, Panvel Jn, ParbhaniJn, Parel, Parli Vaijnath, Partur, Phaltan, Prabhadevi, Pulgaon Jn, Pune Jn, Purna Jn, Raver, Rotegaon , Sainagar Shirdi, Sandhurst Road, Sangli, Satara, Savda, Selu , Sewagram, Shahad, Shegaon, Shivaji Nagar Pune, Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus Kolhapur, Solapur, Talegaon, Thakurli, Thane, Titvala, Tumsar Road, Umri, Uruli, Vadala Road, Vidyavihar, Vikhroli, Wadsa, Wardha, Washim, Wathar |

## Completed Stations:

Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Maharashtra have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works of 17 stations  (Amgaon,  Baramati,  Chanda  Fort,  Chinchpokli,  Devlali,  Dhule, Kedgaon, Lasalgaon, Lonand Jn, Matunga, Murtizapur Jn, Nandura, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Junction, Parel, Savda, Shahad, Vadala Road) in Maharashtra have been completed under this scheme.

The activities for development at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:

-  Diva station: The works of improvement of station building, circulating area  and  parking  on  East  side,  new  entry  gate,  platform  raising  and flooring of platform no. 5/6 and 7/8, platform shelter at platform no. 7/8, new toilet block, sewage treatment plant on West side, improvement of Foot Over Bridge at Kalyan end and Mumbai end and new staircase for Foot Over Bridge have been completed. The works of new 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Mumbra  station:  The  works  for  improvement  of  platform  surface, seating arrangement, new toilet block, improvement of booking office, circulating  area,  sewage  treatment  plant  and  flooring  of  Foot  Over Bridge have been completed. The work of escalator has been taken up.
-  Titwala station: The works for station building, entrance gate, platform surfacing,  improvement  of  ticket  booking  office,  toilet  block,  sewage treatment plant and improvement of two wheeler parking and approach road on East and West side have been completed. The work of new 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Vikhroli station: The works for improvement of station building on West side,  platform  surfacing,  platform  shelter,  new  toilet  block  at  Mumbai end,  improvement  of  toilet  block  at  Kalyan  end  and  Foot  Over  Bridge have been completed. The works of new booking office, circulating area on East and West side and parking of East side have been taken up.
-  Igatpuri station: The structural work new station building, improvement of existing station building, entrance gate, booking office, toilet block, platform surfacing, platform shelter over stairs of Foot Over Bridge and escalator,  circulating  area  shelter  and  sewage  treatment  plant  have been  completed.  The  finishing  work  of  new  station  building  has  been taken up.

Further,  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. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc.

Development  /  Upgradation  of  railway  stations  is  complex  in  nature involving  safety  of  passengers  &  trains  and  requires  various  statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree cutting, airport clearance etc. The progress also gets affected due to brownfield related challenges such  as  shifting  of  utilities  (involving  water/sewage  lines,  optical  fibre cables, gas pipe lines, power/signal cables, etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed restrictions due to works carried out in close proximity of tracks and high voltage power lines, etc. and these factors affect the completion time.

Development  /  Upgradation  /  Modernization  of  stations  including  Amrit Bharat Station Scheme 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  station-wise  or state-wise.  Maharashtra  is  covered  under  the  jurisdiction  of  four  railway zones, namely, Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway  and  Western  Railway.  For  these  zones,  an  allocation  of  ₹  3,834 crore  has  been  made  for  the  financial  year  2025-26,  out  of  which  an expenditure (up to January, 2026) of ₹ 3,461 crore has been incurred so far.

*****