Lok Sabha Question No. 697 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: Expansion of Freight Logistics and Regional Connectivity
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Jugal Kishore, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Dr. Hemang Joshi, Shri Nalin Soren, Shri Kali Charan Singh, Shri Ananta Nayak, Shri Ramesh Awasthi, Shri Shankar Lalwani, Shri Chandan Chauhan, Shri Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi, Shri Vijay Kumar Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 697 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026

## EXPANSION OF FREIGHT LOGISTICS AND REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY

## †697. SHRI KALI CHARAN SINGH:

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

SHRI ANANTA NAYAK:

SHRI VIJAY KUMAR DUBEY:

SHRI RAMESH AWASTHI:

SHRI NALIN SOREN:

SHRI CHANDAN CHAUHAN:

SHRI SUKANTA KUMAR PANIGRAHI:

SHRI JUGAL KISHORE:

DR. HEMANG JOSHI:

SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI:

## Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has undertaken initiatives to strengthen freight logistics and regional connectivity including first and last-mile solutions such  as  door-to-door  services,  goods  sheds,  private  sidings  and  timetabled cargo trains in the country particularly in Jharkhand and UT of Jammu and Kashmir and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether progress has been made in wagon production upgradation and freight capacity enhancement and if so, the details of the improvements achieved and challenges faced in the process;
- (c)  whether  railway  projects  in  remote  and  tribal  regions,  particularly Kandhamal district of Odisha, including the new line via Phulbani, are under implementation and if so, the status of DPR review and proposals for agri-freight goods sheds/sidings;
- (d) whether steps have been taken/being taken by the Government under PM Gati Shakti to provide rail connectivity to unconnected Aspirational and tribal districts like Kandhamal and if so, the measures and timelines to address the connectivity gap; and
- (e) the details of the current status, progress made so for, amount of funds sanctioned, land acquisition and expected timeline of the new railway
- line project connecting Gaya in Bihar to Chatra in Jharkhand?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (e): For strengthening freight logistics and regional connectivity, Indian Railways  has  implemented  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to  enhance  freight efficiency, ensure seamless regional connectivity, and provide robust firstand-last-mile solutions. The key initiatives are categorized below -

- Terminal  Development:  To  improve  the  efficiency  of  rail  freight handling at the terminals, Indian Railway has adopted two-pronged approach: encouraging development of modern rail freight terminals under  Gati  Shakti  Multi-Modal  Cargo  Terminal  (GCT)  policy  and augmenting/ upgrading the infrastructure at railway owned goods sheds.  So far, 124 GCTs have already been commissioned (includes 11 GCTs in Jharkhand and 1 GCT in UT of Jammu and Kashmir) with an  estimated  traffic  capacity  of  198million  tonnes  per  annum (MTPA). In addition, for improvement of customer amenities at goods and parcel terminals all across the country, an amount of Rs. 14,500 crore has been allocated for the financial year 2023-24, 2024-25 and
- (i) 2025-26.
- (ii) Wagon Investment Schemes: Indian Railway has already implemented various schemes for private sector to invest in wagons including  the  commodity  focused  specialized  wagons  such  as wagons for cement, oil, steel, fly-ash etc. So far, around 243 rakes of  special  purpose  wagons  and  383  rakes  of  general-purpose wagons are operational, which are expected to improve modal share
- in commodities like bulk cement, fly-ash, steel products, iron ores and coal etc.  Besides, there is a separate scheme for transportation of automobiles under which around 51 rakes owned by industry are operational.
- (iii) Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service (JPP-RCS) scheme: This scheme offers tailor-made logistics to meet specific needs of the customer  and  provide  door-to-door  parcel  services.  Under  the scheme, provision has been made for online booking of parcel space in these services through Aggregators (in addition to India Post) on 'Virtual Aggregation Platform (VAP)'.
- (iv) To  provide  door-to-door  parcel  service  to  the  UT  of  Jammu  and Kashmir, 192 parcel train services have operated since 13.09.2025 between  Adarsh  Nagar  (Delhi)  and  Badgam  (UT  of  Jammu  and Kashmir)  under  the  JPP-RCS  scheme  -  transporting  around  9,800 tonnes of parcel consignments.
- (v) CONCOR, a PSU under Ministry of Railways is also providing Doorto-Door parcel services by utilizing the JPP-RCS over Delhi-Kolkata and  Mumbai-Kolkata  sectors.    CONCOR  is  also  providing  Door-toDoor logistics under a pilot project at Sonik Goods shed.

With regard to wagon production, following initiatives have been taken by Ministry of Railways for freight capacity enhancement-

- (i) Introduction of new design BOSM wagon for transportation of bulk commodities as well as point load commodities like steel coils and ACT1 wagon for transportation of automobiles particularly SUVs.
- (ii) Regular production of stainless steel body BOBSNS wagons used for iron ore  transport  has  commenced,  which  have  11%  higher throughput as compared to existing BOBSN rake.
- (iii) Flat Multipurpose Wagon for transportation of automobiles, trucks, military equipment, steel coils etc. has been introduced.
- (iv) Enhanced loading in upper deck of double stack container has been permitted enhancing loading in upper deck from approx. 26t to 30.5t.
- (v) Steps for upgrading speed potential of 54 wagon variants, consisting of more than 50% of total wagon population, to 100 kmph has been undertaken.

Further,  with  regard  to  railway  projects  in  remote  and  tribal  region,  it  is stated that Railway  projects are surveyed/sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise/District wise/region wise as the Railway projects may span across State/district boundaries/regions.

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

| Period   | Outlay                         |
|----------|--------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹ 838 Cr./year                 |
| 2025-26  | ₹ 10,599 Cr. (Nearly 13 times) |

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

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average Commissioning of new tracks per year   |
|----------|--------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 267 Km                   | 53.4 Km                                        |
| 2014-25  | 2,150 Km                 | 195.45 Km (More than 3.5 times)                |

As on 01.04.2025, 49 projects (19 New Lines and 30 Doubling), of a total length of 4,010 Km, costing ₹ 67,496 crore, falling fully/partly in Odisha, are sanctioned, out of which 1,429 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure  of  ₹28,043  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                |                          19 | 1,544                           | 256                                       | 6,270                              |
| Doubling/Multi- tracking |                          30 | 2,466                           | 1,173                                     | 21,773                             |
| Total                    |                          49 | 4,010                           | 1,429                                     | 28,043                             |

Rail connectivity in Kandhamal/Boudh region:

To  improve  the  connectivity  in  the  region,    the  work  of  Khurda  Road  Bolangir (301 Km) new line has been sanctioned at latest sanctioned cost of ₹ 5,089 Cr. So far, total 226 Km (Khurda Road - Daspalla (106 Km) and Puruna Katak - Boudh - Bolangir (120 Km)) have been commissioned. Works have been taken up on balance section.

To  extend  rail  connectivity  to  Phulbani  (Kandhamal  District),  a  survey  of Boudh - Phulbani (59 Km) new line has been taken up.

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 cannot be fixed.

## Gaya-Chatra rail line:

Gaya-Chatra (99 Km) new line project was kept on hold earlier.  However, keeping in view the freight loading potential of the area, it has been decided to take forward this Project.  Accordingly, preparation of revised DPR and revised estimate has been taken up.

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

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.

All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the projects.

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