Lok Sabha Question No. 6109 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-01
Subject: Phaltan–Pandharpur New Railway Line Project
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6109

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026

## PHALTAN-PANDHARPUR NEW RAILWAY LINE PROJECT

## 6109. SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that the Phaltan-Pandharpur section (approximately 105  km)  of  the  Lonand-Pandharpur  New  Railway  Line  Project  in Maharashtra remains incomplete despite the submission of an updated Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the Railway Board and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  it  is  a  fact  that  despite  final  approval  of  the  project  is  still pending  comments  were  received  from  NITI  Aayog  on  the  project review and if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c)  the  reasons  for  the  delay  in  granting  approval  and  commencing
- construction of the said section; and
- (d)  the  details  of  the  concrete  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to expedite  approval,  start  construction  work  and  ensure  time-bound completion of the Phaltan-Pandharpur section?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): Survey for Phaltan - Pandharpur New Line Project (109 Km) has been completed and Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared.

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 depend upon appraisals and approvals by various stakeholders.

Maharashtra

Railway Budget:

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 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                 |

|   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   |

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                        |
|    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                             |

Platform length extension:

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

## New projects for increasing capacity:

To improve the capacity of rail network in Mumbai suburban area, Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-II costing ₹8,087 crore, MUTP-III costing ₹10,947 crore and MUTP-IIIA costing ₹33,690 crore have been sanctioned. These projects include following works in Mumbai Suburban Area:

|   SN | Name of Project                                                     | Cost (in Cr.)   |
|------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|
|    1 | CSMT-Kurla 5 th & 6 th Line (MUTP-II) (17.5 km)                     | 891             |
|    2 | Mumbai Central-Borivali 6 th Line (MUTP-II) (30 km)                 | 919             |
|    3 | Extension of Harbour Line from Goregaon-Borivali (MUTP-IIIA) (7 km) | 826             |
|    4 | Borivali-Virar 5 th & 6 th Line (MUTP-IIIA) (26 km)                 | 2,184           |
|    5 | Virar-Dahanu Road 3 rd & 4 th Line (MUTP-III) (64 km)               | 3,587           |
|    6 | Panvel-Karjat Suburban Corridor (MUTP-III) (29.6 km)                | 2,782           |
|    7 | Airoli-Kalwa (elevated) Suburban Corridor link (MUTP- III) (3.3 km) | 476             |
|    8 | Kalyan-Asangaon 4 th Line (MUTP-IIIA) (32 km)                       | 1,759           |
|    9 | Kalyan-Badlapur 3 rd & 4 th line (MUTP-IIIA) (14 km)                | 1,510           |
|   10 | Kalyan-Kasara 3 rd Line (67 km)                                     | 793             |
|   11 | Naigaon-Juichandra double chord Line (6 km)                         | 176             |
|   12 | Nilaje-Kopar double chord Line (5 km)                               | 338             |
|   13 | Kalyan Yard remodeling work                                         | 866             |

## New generation trains:

To enhance passenger carrying capacity, 238 rakes of 12 cars each with doors  have  been  sanctioned  under  MUTP-III  &  IIIA  at  a  cost  of  ₹19,293 crore. The process for procurement of these rakes has been taken up.

## Bullet Train project:

Presently,  the  Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508 km)  is  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:

| Item      | Progress   |
|-----------|------------|
| Piers     | 430 kms.   |
| Girder    | 341 kms.   |
| Track Bed | 174 kms.   |
| OHE Masts | 153 kms.   |

The progress of stations is given below:-

|   S.No. | Station      | Status                                                                                                |
|---------|--------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Sabarmati    | Foundation works completed, Platform slab & roof structural works and finishing works are in progress |
|       2 | Ahmedabad    | Structural works completed and finishing works                                                        |
|       3 | Anand/Nadiad | have been taken up.                                                                                   |
|       4 | Vadodara     | Foundation work completed, structural works and                                                       |

|    |              | finishing works have been taken up.                                                                |
|----|--------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  5 | Bharuch      | Structural works completed and finishing                                                           |
|  6 | Surat        | works                                                                                              |
|  7 | Bilimora     | have been taken up.                                                                                |
|  8 | Vapi         |                                                                                                    |
|  9 | Boisar       | Foundation works have been taken up and in                                                         |
| 10 | Virar        | advanced stage. Structural works have been taken                                                   |
| 11 | Thane        | up.                                                                                                |
| 12 | BKC (Mumbai) | This is an underground station. Foundation works almost completed and Base Slab has been taken up. |

## The progress on the River Bridges is as under:-

|   S. No. | River Name                  | Status                                                               |
|----------|-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Sabarmati River (480m)      | Sub-Structure work completed, Superstructure work has been taken up. |
|        2 | Meshwa River (120m)         | Bridge construction completed.                                       |
|        3 | Vatrak River (280m)         | Bridge construction completed.                                       |
|        4 | Mohar (Shedhi) River (160m) | Bridge construction completed.                                       |
|        5 | Mahi River (720m)           | 11 out of 12 wells completed;5 spans launched                        |
|        6 | Vishwamitri River (80m)     | Bridge construction completed.                                       |
|        7 | Dhadhar River (120m)        | Bridge construction completed.                                       |
|        8 | Narmada River (1366m)       | 21 out of 25 wells completed; 4 spans launched                       |
|        9 | Kim River (120m)            | Bridge construction completed.                                       |

| 10    | Tapi River (720m)                                                                               | Foundation work has been taken up, 10 out of 12 wells completed          |
|-------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 11    | Mindhola River (240m) Bridge construction completed. Purna River (360m) Venganiya (120m) (320m) |                                                                          |
| 12    | Foundation works have been completed                                                            |                                                                          |
| 13    | Ambika River (200m)                                                                             |                                                                          |
| 14    | River (200m)                                                                                    |                                                                          |
| 15    | Kaveri River (120m)                                                                             |                                                                          |
| 16    | Kharera River                                                                                   |                                                                          |
| 17    | Auranga River                                                                                   |                                                                          |
| 18    | Par River (320m)                                                                                |                                                                          |
| 19    | Kolak River (160m)                                                                              |                                                                          |
| 20    | Daman Ganga River (360m)                                                                        |                                                                          |
| 21    | Darotha River (80m)                                                                             |                                                                          |
| 22 23 | Jagani River (360m) VaitarnaRiver (2320m)                                                       | 12 Pile Cap and 11 Pier (out of 58) completed.                           |
| 24    | Ulhas River Branch (120m)                                                                       | Temporary Access Bridge (TAB) completed to start the foundation work.    |
| 25    | Desai Khadi River Bridge (400m)                                                                 | Geo-technical Investigation (GTI) has been completed and Design work has |
|       | been taken up.                                                                                  |                                                                          |

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.

Further, to strengthen national transport infrastructure, provide a fillip to regional connectivity, economic growth, tourism, investment and

employment  generation,  and  encourage  modal  shift  from  road  and  air transport to rail,  the  Government  has  announced  the  development of the following seven new High-Speed Rail (HSR) corridors in the Union Budget 2026-27:-

- (i) Mumbai-Pune
- (ii)
- Pune-Hyderabad
- (iii) Hyderabad-Bengaluru
- (iv)
- Hyderabad-Chennai
- (v)
- (vi)
- (vii)
- Chennai-Bengaluru
- Delhi-Varanasi
- Varanasi-Siliguri

Being highly capital intensive, the decision to sanction any HSR Corridor/Project depends on many factors such as outcome of DPR, technoeconomic feasibility studies and availability of resources such as financing options etc.

## 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.

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.

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