Rs 7.44 Lakh Crore Rail Projects In Pipeline: Out of 44,488 Km Planned, Over 12,000 Km Commissioned

Indian Railways had 488 infrastructure projects in various stages of planning, approval and construction, covering 44,488 km with an estimated cost of Rs 7.44 lakh crore as of April 2024, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed the Lok Sabha.

The projects included 187 new railway lines, 40 gauge conversion projects, and 261 doubling/multitracking initiatives across different railway zones.

As of March 2024, 12,045 km of track has been commissioned, with Rs 2.92 lakh crore spent, according to the minister.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha earlier this week, Vaishnaw said, "As on 01.04.2024, across Indian Railways, 488 Railway infrastructure projects (187 New Line, 40 Gauge Conversion and 261 Doubling) of total length 44,488 Km, costing approx. ₹7.44 lakh crore are in planning/approval/construction stage, out of which, 12,045 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of approx. ₹2.92 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2024".

According to the data presented by the minister, Indian Railways currently has 488 infrastructure projects, including 187 new line projects spanning 20,199 km, of which 2,855 km has been commissioned with an expenditure of Rs 1,60,022 crore till March 2024.

Additionally, 40 gauge conversion projects covering 4,719 km have seen 2,972 km commissioned, with Rs 18,706 crore spent till March 2024.

The largest segment in terms of the number of projects is doubling or multitracking, with 261 projects totaling 19,570 km, of which 6,218 km has been commissioned, with an expenditure of Rs 1,13,742 crore till March last year.

The pace of railway track commissioning/laying has also increased significantly in the last decade.

Between 2009 and 2014, Indian Railways commissioned 7,599 km of new tracks, averaging 4.2 km per day.

Meanwhile, from 2014 to 2024, the commissioning rate more than doubled, with 31,180 km of new tracks laid, averaging 8.54 km per day, according to the government data.

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