Indian Railways sanctions ₹1.9 lakh crore worth of projects over four years: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Indian Railways has sanctioned infrastructure projects worth approximately ₹1.9 lakh crore over the past four years, covering a total length of 9,703 kilometers, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In a written reply, the minister detailed that 237 projects — including 40 new railway lines, 17 gauge conversion projects, and 180 track doubling works — have been approved during the last three financial years and the current fiscal year (FY26).

Additionally, Vaishnaw noted that 892 surveys have been sanctioned across the railway network in the same period. These include 267 surveys for new lines, 11 for gauge conversions, and 614 for track doubling, spanning a cumulative length of 61,462 kilometers.

Highlighting the expansion since 2014, the minister pointed out that from 2009 to 2014, only 7,599 kilometers of tracks were commissioned — averaging 4.2 km per day.

In contrast, the years from 2014 to 2025 have seen a total of 34,428 km of tracks sanctioned, increasing the pace to 8.57 km per day.

"As a result of comprehensive planning of Railway projects under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan and better coordination among various stakeholders, the sanction of service, sanction of projects and the pace of laying/commissioning of new tracks have also increased," Vaishnaw stated.

He added that the PM Gati Shakti institutional framework is being used extensively for ground surveys, land record integration, and route alignments, resulting in improved quality of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and a reduction in overall project costs.

In addition to expansion projects, the Indian Railways is also focusing on enhancing passenger amenities and operational efficiency. Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, aimed at upgrading railway stations with world-class facilities, 1,337 stations have been identified for redevelopment.

To elevate the travel experience, Indian Railways has introduced modern train models such as the Vande Bharat Express, Amrit Bharat Trains, and the Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, all featuring state-of-the-art technology and passenger-friendly designs.

On the safety front, the Railways is implementing the Kavach system — a National Automatic Train Protection (ATP) mechanism — in mission mode to reduce accidents and improve operational safety.

"To improve safety in train operations, Kavach has been developed as a National Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system on Indian Railways. The work of implementation of Kavach has been taken up in mission mode on Indian Railways," said the minister.

Moreover, all unmanned level crossings on broad gauge routes have been eliminated, and efforts are underway to gradually replace all manned level crossings with Road Over Bridges (RoBs) or Road Under Bridges (RUBs) to ensure safer rail and road interactions, Vaishnaw added.