Lok Sabha Question No. 1965 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Demand/Availability of Rail Capacity
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Malvinder Singh Kang

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1965 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026

## DEMAND/AVAILABILITY OF RAIL CAPACITY

## 1965. SHRI MALVINDER SINGH KANG:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has undertaken any corridor-wise assessment of passenger demand versus available rail capacity in northern Punjab, particularly  on  routes  connecting  Anandpur  Sahib,  Rupnagar,  Una  and Nangal with major urban centres and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  details  of  new  train  services,  frequency  augmentation  or  rake rationalisation proposed or under consideration for these routes during the period 2024-26;
- (c)  whether constraints relating to single-line sections, platform length or signalling  upgradation  have  been  identified  as  limiting  factors  for service expansion in this region and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details of the steps taken or proposed to be taken to improve railbased access for pilgrims and daily commuters in the Anandpur Sahib region in view of recurring congestion during peak periods?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (d):  Indian  Railways  regularly  carry  out  passenger  demand  and capacity assessments across the railway network. Based on such assessments, additional train services including special trains are introduced/operated to meet the passenger demand.

As  the  Railway  network  straddles  across  State  boundaries,  trains  are introduced, as per network requirement, across such boundaries. Presently,  Anandpur  Sahib,  Rupnagar,  Una  Himachal  and  Nangal  Dam stations  are  catered  by  28  train  services,  26  train  services,  18  train services and 26 train services respectively as listed below:

## Anandpur Sahib:

|   SN | Train no. and name                                     |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 12057 New Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Jan Shatabdi Express |
|    2 | 12058 Daulatpur Chowk-New Delhi Jan Shatabdi Express   |
|    3 | 12325 Kolkata - Nangal Dam Gurumukhi Express           |
|    4 | 12326 Nangal Dam - Kolkata Gurumukhi Express           |
|    5 | 14053 Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Himachal Express         |
|    6 | 14054 Daulatpur Chowk-Delhi Himachal Express           |
|    7 | 14505 Amritsar-Nangal Dam Express                      |
|    8 | 14506 Nangal Dam-Amritsar Express                      |
|    9 | 19307 Indore-Una Himachal Express                      |
|   10 | 19308 Una Himachal-Indore Express                      |
|   11 | 19411 Gandhinagar Capital - Daulatpur Chowk Express    |
|   12 | 19412 Daulatpur Chowk-Gandhinagar Capital Express      |
|   13 | 22447 New Delhi-Amb Andaura Vande Bharat Express       |
|   14 | 22448 Amb Andaura-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express       |
|   15 | 22709 Hazur Sahib Nanded - Amb Andaura Express         |
|   16 | 22710 Amb Andaura-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express           |
|   17 | 64511 Haridwar - Amb Andaura MEMU                      |
|   18 | 64512 Amb Andaura - Haridwar MEMU                      |
|   19 | 64515 Ambala Cantt - Nangal Dam MEMU                   |
|   20 | 64516 Nangal Dam - Ambala Cantt MEMU                   |
|   21 | 64517 Ambala Cantt - Nangal Dam MEMU                   |
|   22 | 64518 Nangal Dam - Ambala Cantt MEMU                   |
|   23 | 64563 Raipur Haryana - Amb Andaura MEMU                |
|   24 | 64564 Amb Andaura - Raipur Haryana MEMU                |
|   25 | 74991 Ambala Cantt. - Daulatpur Chowk DEMU             |
|   26 | 74992 Daulatpur Chowk - Ambala Cantt DEMU              |
|   27 | 64513 Saharanpur - Nangal Dam MEMU                     |
|   28 | 64514 Nangal Dam - Ambala Cantt MEMU                   |

## Rupnagar and Nangal Dam:

|   SN | Train no. and name                                     |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 12057 New Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Jan Shatabdi Express |
|    2 | 12058 Daulatpur Chowk-New Delhi Jan Shatabdi Express   |
|    3 | 12325 Kolkata - Nangal Dam Gurumukhi Express           |
|    4 | 12326 Nangal Dam - Kolkata Gurumukhi Express           |
|    5 | 14053 Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Himachal Express         |
|    6 | 14054 Daulatpur Chowk-Delhi Himachal Express           |
|    7 | 14505 Amritsar-Nangal Dam Express                      |
|    8 | 14506 Nangal Dam-Amritsar Express                      |
|    9 | 19307 Indore-Una Himachal Express                      |
|   10 | 19308 Una Himachal-Indore Express                      |
|   11 | 19411 Gandhinagar Capital - Daulatpur Chowk Express    |
|   12 | 19412 Daulatpur Chowk-Gandhinagar Capital Express      |
|   13 | 22709 Hazur Sahib Nanded - Amb Andaura Express         |
|   14 | 22710 Amb Andaura-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express           |
|   15 | 64511 Haridwar - Amb Andaura MEMU                      |
|   16 | 64512 Amb Andaura - Haridwar MEMU                      |
|   17 | 64515 Ambala Cantt - Nangal Dam MEMU                   |
|   18 | 64516 Nangal Dam - Ambala Cantt MEMU                   |
|   19 | 64517 Ambala Cantt - Nangal Dam MEMU                   |
|   20 | 64518 Nangal Dam - Ambala Cantt MEMU                   |
|   21 | 64563 Raipur Haryana - Amb Andaura MEMU                |
|   22 | 64564 Amb Andaura - Raipur Haryana MEMU                |
|   23 | 74991 Ambala Cantt. - Daulatpur Chowk DEMU             |
|   24 | 74992 Daulatpur Chowk - Ambala Cantt DEMU              |
|   25 | 64513 Saharanpur - Nangal Dam MEMU                     |
|   26 | 64514 Nangal Dam - Ambala Cantt MEMU                   |

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## Una Himachal:

|   SN | Train no. and name                                     |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 12057 New Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Jan Shatabdi Express |
|    2 | 12058 Daulatpur Chowk-New Delhi Jan Shatabdi Express   |
|    3 | 14053 Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Himachal Express         |
|    4 | 14054 Daulatpur Chowk-Delhi Himachal Express           |
|    5 | 19307 Indore-Una Himachal Express                      |
|    6 | 19308 Una Himachal-Indore Express                      |
|    7 | 19411 Gandhinagar Capital - Daulatpur Chowk Express    |
|    8 | 19412 Daulatpur Chowk-Gandhinagar Capital Express      |
|    9 | 22447 New Delhi-Amb Andaura Vande Bharat Express       |
|   10 | 22448 Amb Andaura-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express       |
|   11 | 22709 Hazur Sahib Nanded - Amb Andaura Express         |
|   12 | 22710 Amb Andaura-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express           |
|   13 | 64511 Haridwar - Amb Andaura MEMU                      |
|   14 | 64512 Amb Andaura - Haridwar MEMU                      |
|   15 | 64563 Raipur Haryana - Amb Andaura MEMU                |
|   16 | 64564 Amb Andaura - Raipur Haryana MEMU                |
|   17 | 74991 Ambala Cantt. - Daulatpur Chowk DEMU             |
|   18 | 74992 Daulatpur Chowk - Ambala Cantt DEMU              |

During 2024-2026, the following train services have been extended to cater to the passengers of the Rupnagar-Anandpur Sahib-Nangal Dam-Una Himachal sector:

|   1 | Extension of 19307/19308 Indore-Chandigarh Express upto Una Himachal w.e.f 14.03.2024       |
|-----|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   2 | Extension of 64511/64512 Saharanpur-Una Himachal Passenger to Amb Andaura w.e.f 19.07.2025. |

Indian  Railways  have  issued  'Bharat  Gaurav  Trains'  policy  in  November 2021, under which theme based tourist circuit trains are being run with the

objective to  showcase  India's  rich  cultural  heritage  and  magnificent historical  places to the people  of  India and the world. As per this policy, service  providers  have  full  flexibility  to  decide  the  themes/itineraries  for operation of Bharat Gaurav tourist circuit trains, which may include tourist circuits of any part of India including the state of Punjab, based on market demand, commercial viability etc.

As  of  now,  one  trip  of  Bharat  Gaurav  Train  'Guru  Kripa  Yatra'  has  been operated  covering  various  pilgrimage  destinations  in  Punjab  including  Sri Keshgarh Sahib in the Anandpur Sahib region.

Besides,  introduction of  train  services/increase  in  frequency  are  on-going processes on Indian Railways which depends on various factors including -

- Capacity of that section
- Availability of path
- Availability of required rolling stock
- Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock
- Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets

## Rail network expansion in Punjab

To  improve  rail  connectivity  in  Northern  Punjab,  Nangaldam  -  Talwara  Mukerian  new  line  (123 km)  was  sanctioned.  60  km  of  this project connecting Nangal Dam - Una - Andaura - Daulatpur Chowk section has been commissioned. Work of Daulatpur Chowk - Talwara - Mukerian section has been taken up.

Also work of Chandigarh-Baddi New Line (28 Km) has also been taken up at a  cost  of  Rs.  1540  crore.  To  further  extend  this  line,  survey  for  BaddiGhanauli  New  Line  (25  Km)  has  been  completed  and  Detailed  Project Report (DPR) has been prepared.

After preparation of 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.

-:6:-

Budget  allocation  for  Infrastructure  projects  and  safety  works,  falling fully/partly in the State of Punjab is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                           |
|----------|----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹225 crore/year                  |
| 2025-26  | ₹ 5,421 Cr. (More than 24 times) |

As on 01.04.2025, 09 projects (04 New Line and 05 Doubling) of total length 714 Km, costing Rs.21,926 crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Punjab are sanctioned, out of which 115 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure  of  Rs.8,079  crore  has  been  incurred  upto  March'  2025.  The summary is as under:-

| Category                |   No. of project s | Total Length   | Length Commission ed   | Expenditure upto March 2025 (Rs.in Crore)   |
|-------------------------|--------------------|----------------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
| New Line                |                 04 | 252 Km         | 64 Km                  | 7,359                                       |
| Doubling /multitracking |                 05 | 462 Km         | 51 Km                  | 720                                         |
| Total                   |                 09 | 714 Km         | 115 Km                 | 8,079                                       |

In last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and current financial year 2025-26, 22 surveys (09 New Line, 12 Doubling and 01 Gauge Conversion) covering a total length of 2,101 Km have been taken up falling partly/fully in the State of Punjab.

## Station redevelopment in Punjab

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  Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 30 stations are located in Punjab. The name  of  stations  identified  for  development  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme in Punjab are as following:

| State   |   No. of Stations | Name of Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|---------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Punjab  |                30 | Abohar, Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Beas, Bhatinda Junction, Dhandari Kalan, Dhuri, Fazilka, Firozpur Cantt, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar Cantt Junction, Jalandhar City Junction, Kapurthala, Kot Kapura Junction, Ludhiana Junction, Malerkotla, Mansa, Moga, Muktsar, Nangal Dam, Pathankot Cantt., Pathankot Junction, Patiala, Phagwara Junction, Phillaur Junction, Rup Nagar, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar Mohali, Sangrur, Sirhind |

Development  works  at  railway  stations  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme in Punjab have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works of 03 stations (Anandpur Sahib, Muktsar, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar Mohali) in Punjab have been completed under this scheme. The works at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:

-  Gurdaspur station: The works of improvement of station building, porch, platform  shelter,  waiting  room,  toilet,  circulating  area,  parking  and lighting  on  main  entry  have  been  completed.  The  works  of  entry/exist gate  on  main  entry,  new  platform  no.  2,  booking  cum  waiting  hall, circulating area, parking and entry/exist gate on second entry and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Fazilka  station:  The  works  of  improvement  of  station  building,  porch, platform  shelter,  platform  surfacing,  toilet,  circulating  area,  parking, entry/exit gates, signage and lighting on main entry have been completed. The work of 6 m Foot Over Bridge has been taken up.
- Phagwara station: The works of improvement of station building, porch, platform  shelter,  platform  surfacing,  waiting  rooms,  toilet,  circulating area, parking, executive lounge, entry/exit gate, signage, lighting on main entry, new booking cum waiting hall, circulating area and approach road on second entry have been completed. The works of lift, escalator and 12
-  m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Phillaur  station:  The  works  of  improvement  of  station  building,  porch, platform  shelter,  platform  surfacing,  toilet,  circulating  area,  parking, entry/exit gates, signage and lighting have been completed. The work of 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Kapurthala station: The works of improvement of station building, porch, platform  shelter,  platform  surfacing,  waiting  room,  toilet,  circulating area, parking, entry/exit gates, signage, lighting on main entry side, new booking cum waiting hall, parking and circulating area on second entry have been completed. The work of 12 m Foot Over Bridge has been taken up.

Further, development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of stations  on  Indian  Railways  including  provision  for  waiting  hall  and drinking water facilities 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.

Upgradation  /  development  /  redevelopment  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 brown  field  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 / Modernisation of stations including under 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. Punjab is covered under the jurisdiction  of two  railway zones,  namely  Northern  Railway  and  North  Western Railway. For the last four years and the current year, ₹ 8,501 crore has been allocated while an expenditure of ₹ 7,131 crore has been incurred during the last four years and current year (up to December, 2025).

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