Lok Sabha Question No. 794 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: New Railway Line from Dildarnagar to Maa Mundeshwari Dham
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Sudhakar Singh, Shri Manoj Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 794 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026

## NEW RAILWAY LINE FROM DILDARNAGAR TO MAA MUNDESHWARI DHAM

- †794. SHRI SUDHAKAR SINGH: SHRI MANOJ KUMAR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  approved  a  project  for  the  Dildarnagar Junction-Bhabhua Road new railway line (approximately 35 kilometers, estimated cost Rs. 800 crore) in the Railway Budget 2024-25;
- (b) the details of the findings of the survey and the decisions taken by the Government  based  on  those  findings  including  current  status  of  the projects;
- (c) the reasons for the delay in starting the project work;
- (d) whether there has been any progress on the construction of the related railway  line,  DPR,  cost  estimates  and  land  acquisition  process,  if  a survey was conducted;
- (e) whether there is a proposal to conduct the survey in the financial year 2025-26, if it was not done earlier;
- (f)  if  so,  the  expected  timeline  for  the  survey  and  the  commencement  of construction work;
- (g) if not, the reasons for not proposing the survey or construction of the above mentioned route given that Maa Mundeshwari Dham is important religious and tourist site;
- (h) whether the Government is aware that this railway line, which connects Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh), Buxar and Kaimur (Bihar) distrticts can boost connectivity, trade, employment and passenger movement in the border areas; and
- (i)  if  so,  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  include  this  project  in  its priority list for early implementation considering its inter-State importance and if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (i) : Dildarnagar Junction and Bhabhua Road are already connected via Pt.  Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction on existing Railway network. Bhabhua Road railway station is about 22 Km away from the Maa Mundeshwari Dham which serves as the transportation hub for the town & nearby regions.

To explore an additional connectivity between Bhabhua Road and Dildarnagar  a  survey  of  Bhabhua  Road-Dildarnagar  (33  Km)  new  line  has been sanctioned. The field survey has been completed.

After  preparation  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 depends upon appraisals and approvals by various stakeholders.

Ghazipur,  Buxar  and  Bhabhua  Road  (Kaimur)  are  already  existing  railway stations on the railway network providing well established connectivity for both passenger and freight traffic.

Bihar

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

| Period   | Outlay                        |
|----------|-------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹1,132 Cr./year               |
| 2025-26  | ₹10,066 Cr. (Nea rly 9 times) |

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

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average Commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 318 Km                   | 63.6 Km                               |
| 2014-25  | 1,899 Km                 | 172.6 (More than 2.5 times)           |

As on 01.04.2025, 52 projects (31 New Lines, 01 Gauge Conversions and 20 Doubling),  of  a  total  length  of  4,663  km,  costing  ₹86,107  crore,  falling fully/partly in Bihar, are sanctioned, out of which 1,250 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹29,353 crore has been incurred upto March' 2025. The summary is as under:-

| Category                 |   No of sanctioned Projects | Total Length NL/GC/DL (in Km)   | Length Commissioned till Mar'25 (in Km)   | Total Exp upto Mar'25 (₹ in Cr)   |
|--------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| New Lines                |                          31 | 2,691                           | 516                                       | 16,814                            |
| Gauge Conversion         |                           1 | 69                              | 52                                        | 544                               |
| Doubling/Multi- tracking |                          20 | 1,904                           | 446                                       | 11,995                            |
| Total                    |                          52 | 4,663                           | 1,014                                     | 29,353                            |

Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway's website.

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 own operational requirements
-  Socio-economic considerations
-  Overall availability of funds

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

-  Land acquisition by State Government
-  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.

All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s.

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