Lok Sabha Question No. 3011 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: New/Ongoing/Pending Railway Projects across the Country
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Manju Sharma, Shri Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava, Shri Ajay Bhatt, Shri Tharaniventhan M S, Shri Arun Kumar Sagar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3011 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026

## NEW/ONGOING/PENDING RAILWAY PROJECTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

†3011. SHRI ARUN KUMAR SAGAR:

SHRI THARANIVENTHAN M S:

SMT . MANJU SHARMA:

SHRI AJAY BHATT:

SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Railways  has  received  proposals  from  States  including Uttarakhand and if so, the details of proposals approved and pending so far along with the reasons therefor;
- (b) the details of the action taken by the Government thereof;
- (c)  the  details  of  the  new/ongoing/pending railway projects in the country particularly  in  Rajasthan  during  the  last  three  years  including  their present status/reasons for delay and the time since these projects are pending, State, zone and project-wise;
- (d) the number of projects lagging behind their time schedule, the projectwise reasons for delays and the cost escalations under these projects;
- (e)  the  details  of  the  allocated  funds  for  each  project  and  expenditure incurred  so  far  particularly  Tamil  Nadu  including  Arani  Lok  Sabha Constituency during the last three years and the current year;
- (f)  the number of the projects stalled/pending due to lack of funds;
- (g) whether there has been significant increase in the expenditure of these projects, if so, the details thereof;

- (h)   the  expected  timeline  for  the  completion  of  these  projects  and  their anticipated impact on improving railway infrastructure; and
- (i)  the  details  of  the  steps  being  taken  to  ensure  timely  execution  and prevent delays in these projects?

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

(a) to (i): 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.

Proposals/requests/suggestions/ representations, both  formal  and  informal for Railway projects/Works across the country are received on the basis of demands raised by State Governments, Members of Parliament, Ministries of Central Government, elected representatives, Railways' own requirements,  organizations/rail users  etc. At various levels including Railway  Board,  Zonal  Railways,  Division  Office  etc.  As  receipt  of  such proposals/complaints/suggestions  is  a  continuous  and  dynamic  process, centralized  compendium  of  such  requests  is  not  maintained.  However, these are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to time.

As  on  01.04.2025,  across  Indian  Railways,  431  Railway  infrastructure projects  (154  New  Line,  33  Gauge  Conversion  and  244  Doubling)  of  total 6.75  lakh  crore  are  sanctioned.  The length  35,966  Km,  costing approx. 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 ( 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                         |

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

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                | 8.6 Km/day (more than 2 times)        |

During  last  3  years  (2022-23,  2023-24,  2024-25)  and  current  Financial  Year 2025-26,  982  no.  Surveys  (295  New  line,  13  Gauge  Conversion  and  674 Doubling)  of  total  length  67,010  Km  have  been  sanctioned  across  Indian Railways.

Uttarakhand:

Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/ partly in Uttarakhand is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                           |
|----------|----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | Rs 187 Crore/year                |
| 2025-26  | Rs 4,641 Crore (nearly 25 times) |

As on 01.04.2025, 03 New Lines, covering total length of 216 Km costing   Rs 40,384 crore falling fully/partly in the State of Uttarakhand are sanctioned, out of which 16  Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs 19,898 crore has been incurred upto March' 2025. The summarized details are as under:-

| Category   |   No. Of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) | Expenditure March ( in crore)   | upto 2025   |
|------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------|-------------|
| New Lines  |                03 |                    216 |                            16 | 19,898                          |             |

To  provide  rail  connectivity  to  Chardham,  Rishikesh-Karnaprayag  new  rail line project (125 km) has been sanctioned.

The  project  alignment  passes  through  Dehradun,  Tehri  Garhwal,  Pauri Garhwal, Rudrapryag and Chamoli Districts of Uttarakhand and will provide rail  connectivity  to  Devprayag  and  Karnaprayag religious  and  tourist  spots with Rishikesh and National Capital of India.

The  alignment  of  the  project  predominantly  passes  through  tunnels.  The project involves construction of 16 Main line tunnels of 104 km length and 12 Escape tunnels of  about  98  km  length.  So  far,  Main  line  tunnels  of  99  km length and 09 Escape Tunnels of over 94 km length have been completed.

To  increase  progress  of  works,  08  Adits  in  various  tunnels  were  also identified.  These  adits  created  additional  work  faces  of  tunnel  excavation expediting early completion of long tunnels. Works of all 8 Adits (5 km) have also been completed.

The project also involves construction of 19 Important/Major Bridges. 8 out of 19 Important/Major Bridges have also been completed. Works in balance bridges have also been taken up.

To further extend the rail connectivity to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, survey has been completed. However, the project alignment lies near the main Central thrust of Himalayas which is highly seismically active.

## Rajasthan:

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

| Period   | Outlay                        |
|----------|-------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 682 crore/year                |
| 2025-26  | 9,960 crore (Nearly 15 times) |

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

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 798 Km                   | 159.60 Km/year                        |
| 2014-25  | 3,815 Km                 | 346.82 Km/year (More than 2 times)    |

As on 01.04.2025, 28 Railway projects (13 New Lines, 05 Gauge Conversion and 10 Doubling), of total length of 3,409 Km costing ₹43,918 crore falling fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Rajasthan,  are  sanctioned.  The  summary  is  as under:-

| Category                |   No. of projects | Total Length (in Km)   | Length Commissioned (in Km)   | Expenditure upto March 2024 ( in Cr)   |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| New Lines               |                13 | 981                    | 196                           | 5769                                   |
| Gauge Conversion        |                 5 | 1252                   | 788                           | 6829                                   |
| Doubling/ Multitracking |                10 | 1176                   | 254                           | 6357                                   |
| Total                   |                28 | 3,409                  | 1,238                         | 18,954                                 |

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

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

|   S.No. | Name of Project                                               |   Latest Cost ( in crore) |
|---------|---------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
|       1 | Bangurgram-Ras New Line (28 km)                               |                       175 |
|       2 | ThaiyatHamira-Sonu New Line (58 Km)                           |                       350 |
|       3 | Suratpura- Sriganganagar Gauge Conversion (241 Km)            |                       896 |
|       4 | Sadulpur-Bikaner & Ratangarh-Degana Gauge Conversion (438 Km) |                       886 |

|   S.No. | Name of Project                                        |   Latest Cost ( in crore) |
|---------|--------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
|       5 | Jaipur -Churu & Sikar-Loharu Gauge Conversion (320 Km) |                      1105 |
|       6 | Bhagat ki Kothi-Luni Doubling (28 Km)                  |                       128 |
|       7 | Rani-Keshav Ganj Doubling (59 Km)                      |                       290 |
|       8 | Guriya-Marwar & Karjoda-Palanpur Doubling (49 Km)      |                       251 |
|       9 | Rani-Marwar Doubling (52 Km)                           |                       346 |
|      10 | Abu Road-Swaroop Ganj Doubling (26 Km)                 |                       195 |
|      11 | Abu Road-Sarotra Road Doubling (24 Km)                 |                       152 |
|      12 | Alwar-Bandikui Doubling (60 Km)                        |                       450 |
|      13 | Ajmer-Bangurgram Doubling (48 Km)                      |                       375 |
|      14 | Bangurgram-Guriya Patch Doubling (47 Km)               |                       395 |
|      15 | Degana-Rai ka Bagh Doubling (146 Km)                   |                       809 |
|      16 | Bina-Kota Doubling (283 Km)                            |                      2476 |
|      17 | Nimach-Chittaurgarh Doubling (56 Km)                   |                       560 |
|      18 | Dausa-Gangapur City Doubling (93 Km)                   |                       950 |
|      19 | Phulera-Degana Doubling (108 Km)                       |                       702 |
|      20 | Churu-Ratangarh Doubling (43 Km)                       |                       423 |
|      21 | Khatuwas-Narnaul Doubling (24 Km)                      |                       313 |

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

|   S.No. | Name of Project                    |   Cost ( in crore) |
|---------|------------------------------------|--------------------|
|       1 | Nimach-Badi Sadri New Line (48 Km) |                495 |

|   2 | Taranga Hill-Abu Road New Line (116 Km)                                     |   2798 |
|-----|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------|
|   3 | Ramganjmandi-Bhopal New Line (277 Km)                                       |   5073 |
|   4 | Pushkar-Merta New Line (51 Km)                                              |    800 |
|   5 | Ringus-Khatu Shyam Ji New Line (17 Km)                                      |    254 |
|   6 | Merta city-Ras New Line & Bye Pass at Merta Road Station (56 Km)            |    947 |
|   7 | Gwalior-Sheopurkalan Gauge Conversion with extension to Kota (284 Km)       |   2913 |
|   8 | Dholpur-Sirmuttra Gauge Conversion with extension to Gangapur City (145 Km) |    747 |
|   9 | Mavli-Devgarh Madariya Gauge Conversion (83 Km)                             |    969 |
|  10 | Mathura-Jhansi 3 rd Line (274 Km)                                           |   5924 |
|  11 | Agra Fort-Bandikui Doubling (150 Km)                                        |    988 |
|  12 | Sawaimadhopur-Jaipur Doubling (131 Km)                                      |   1204 |
|  13 | Churu-Sadulpur & Luni-Bhildi Doubling (330 Km)                              |   3554 |
|  14 | Ajmer-Chanderiya Doubling (178 Km)                                          |   1635 |
|  15 | Bye Pass line at Sawaimadhopur (14 Km)                                      |    304 |
|  16 | Rewari-Khatuwas Doubling (28 Km)                                            |    352 |
|  17 | Bye Pass line at Marwar (4 Km)                                              |     71 |
|  18 | Bypass line at Churu (5 Km)                                                 |     63 |
|  19 | Bypass line at Samdari (1 Km)                                               |     26 |
|  20 | Ramdevra-Pokhran new line (13 Km)                                           |    189 |
|  21 | Lalgarh-Bikaner East Cabin doubling (11 Km)                                 |    279 |
|  22 | Ringas-Sikar Doubling (50 Km)                                               |    470 |

In  last  three  years,  2022-23,  2023-24,  2024-25  and  current  financial  year 2025-26, 59 surveys (25 new line & 34 doubling) of total length 5,666 Km falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Rajasthan  have  been  sanctioned  in  the state of Rajasthan.

## 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  (09  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         |                            3 | 140                    |                                        37 | 2,783                                 |
| Total            |                           15 | 1,700                  |                                       665 | 7,591                                 |

..P/10

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

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

|   S.N. | 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                  |
|      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-                         | 1,122               |

|   S.N. | Project                                                | Cost ( in Crores)   |
|--------|--------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|     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 km) | 18                  |

## To improve connectivity in Arani following works have been taken up:

|   S.N | Project                                    | Cost ( in Crore)   |
|-------|--------------------------------------------|--------------------|
|     1 | Tindivanam-Nagari new line (184 km)        | 3,631              |
|     2 | Tindivanam-Tiruvannamalai new line (71 Km) | 1400               |

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

|   S.N | Project                                      | Cost ( in Crores)   |
|-------|----------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|     1 | Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km)         | 359                 |
|     2 | Nagapattinam-Tiruturaipundi new line (43 km) | 742                 |
|     3 | Trivandrum-Kanyakumari doubling (87 km)      | 3,785               |
|     4 | Arakkonam yard 3rd & 4th line (6 km)         | 98                  |
|     5 | Irugur-Podanur doubling (11 km)              | 277                 |
|     6 | Tambaram-Chengalpattu 4 th Line (30 km)      | 757                 |

..P/12

|   S.N | Project                                                 |   Cost ( in Crores) |
|-------|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|     7 | Attipattu-Gummidipundi 3 rd & 4 th line (23 km)         |                 365 |
|     8 | Perambur-Ambattur 5 th & 6 th line (6 km)               |                 182 |
|     9 | Tirupati-Pakala-Katpadi doubling (104 km)               |                1332 |
|    10 | Attipattu-Puttur new line (88 km)                       |                1700 |
|    11 | Chennai - Cuddulore via Mahabalipuram new line (179 Km) |                2670 |

In last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and current financial year 2025-26, 29 surveys (06 new line and 23 doubling) covering a total length of 2,478 km has been sanctioned falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu.

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:-

..P/13

|   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 |
|    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

Completion of  Railway  project/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.

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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