Bihar has 55 active railway projects on its plate, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The projects, which include new line construction, gauge conversion, and doubling of rail tracks, are at various stages of development as of April 1, 2024.
Railway Minister Vaishnaw responded to queries from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti about the status of ongoing and pending railway projects in Bihar.
As of April 1, 2024, there are 55 railway projects in various stages of planning, approval, or construction within Bihar. These projects, including 31 new lines, two gauge conversions, and 22 doubling projects, cover a total length of 5,064 km and are estimated to cost Rs 79,356 crore. Of these, 1,194 km have already been commissioned, with an expenditure of Rs 26,983 crore incurred up to March 2024.
Bharti also inquired about the measures being taken to complete these projects on time and about the number of projects in Bihar and Jamui parliamentary constituency where surveys have been conducted and approved, but construction has not yet begun.
Vaishnaw explained that railway projects are surveyed, sanctioned, and executed based on Zonal Railways rather than state or constituency boundaries, as these projects often span multiple states. He added that railway infrastructure projects in Bihar fall under the jurisdiction of the East Central Railway (ECR), Eastern Railway (ER), North Eastern Railway (NER), and Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zones. Detailed information about these projects, including costs, expenditures, and allocations, is available publicly.
For the fiscal year 2023-24, the annual budget allocation for infrastructure and safety works in Bihar is Rs 8,505 crore.