38 railway projects worth Rs89,780 crore falling in Maha: Vaishnaw informs RS
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Nagpur: Railways budget allocation for Maharashtra has increased significantly in recent years, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha on Saturday. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully or partly in the state of Maharashtra, increased 20 times from 2009-2014, when the average outlay was around Rs1,171 crore per year, to the present FY 2025-26, in which Rs23,778 crore has been allocated for railway projects in the state.
As of April 1, 2025, 38 projects (11 new lines, 2 gauge conversions, and 25 doublings), of a total length of 5,098km, costing Rs89,780 crore, falling fully or partly in Maharashtra, including Amravati district, have been sanctioned, out of which 2,360km length was commissioned and an expenditure of Rs39,407 crore had been incurred up to March 2025.
During the last three years, that is, in FY 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and the current financial year, some 27 multi-tracking projects of a total length of 1,991km, costing approximately Rs47,126 crore, falling fully or partly in the state of Maharashtra, were sanctioned.
Commissioning of sections (new line, gauge conversion, and doubling) falling fully or partly in the state of Maharashtra during 2009-14 was 292km (58.4 km/year). It has now moved to 2,292km (208.36 km/year), which is more than 3 times 2014-25.
Railways have taken up the Bhusawal-Khandwa 3rd and 4th Line (131km) project costing Rs3,285 crore, and a survey has been taken up for the Murtizapur–Achalpur Gauge Conversion (77km) work falling fully or partly in the Amravati district of Maharashtra.
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These multi-tracking projects will enhance line capacity, provide additional passenger and freight traffic, enable faster movement of goods and services, reduce operational bottlenecks, improve logistics efficiency, increase direct and indirect employment opportunities for the people of the region, reduce operational bottlenecks, develop the tourism industry, and increase industrial activities in the region.
Further, construction works on the flagship high-speed bullet train project have gathered momentum in Maharashtra. Now, 100% land acquisition is complete. Works of bridges, aqueducts etc have been taken up. The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) also passes through Maharashtra. About 178route km of the western DFC is situated in Maharashtra, which is about 12% of the overall route length of the western DFC.
The 76km line of this project from New Gholvad to New Vaitarna in Maharashtra is already 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.
Railway infrastructure projects falling fully or partly in the state of Maharashtra are covered under Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway, South Western Railway, and Western Railway Zones of Indian Railways, said Vaishnaw in reply to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on Saturday.
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