Indian Railways completes 1,356 km Rail Line projects in North Eastern Region during 2014-21

As on 01.04.2021, 20 Projects costing Rs.74,485 crore for 2,011 km length falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region are under different stage of planning/ approval/ execution, out of which 321 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs. 26,874 crore incurred upto March, 2021. These include:

• 14 New Line Projects covering a length of 1,181 km at a cost of:
  • Rs 56,553 crore, out of which 253 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs 23,994 crore incurred upto March, 2021.   
• 6 Doubling Projects covering a length of 830 km at a cost of:
  • Rs 17,932 crore, out of which 68 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs 2,880 crore incurred upto March, 2021.
• During 2014-21, 1356 km projects (270 km of New Line, 972 km of Gauge Conversion and 114 km of Doubling) falling fully/partly in the North Eastern Region have been commissioned at an average rate.
• 193.71 km per year, which is 94% more than average commissioning during 2009-14 (66.6 km/year).
• For financial year 2021-22, total Budget outlay of Rs 6,913 crore has been provided for infrastructure and safety works falling fully/ partly in North Eastern Region, which is 226% more with respect to average annual budget outlay of 2009-14 (Rs 2,122 crore/year). 
• Average annual Budget allocation for these projects during 2014-19 has been enhanced to Rs 5,531 crore per year from Rs 2,122 crore per year during 2009-14, which is 161% more than average annual budget outlay of 2009-14 and budget outlay of Rs 4,669 crore was provided for these projects for financial year 2020-21 which is 120% more than average annual budget outlay of 2009-14.
• Funds are allotted project-wise on yearly basis, based on requirements projected by the Zonal Railways depending upon progress of the work subject to availability of funds.

Wi-Fi services at Railway Stations: 

RailTel, a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry of Railways is providing Wi-Fi services at Railway Stations. So far, Wi-Fi facility has been provided at 6045 stations. Zone-wise details are appended.

• Indian Railways have decided to provide Wi-Fi facility at all stations except halt stations.
• Provision of Wi-Fi at balance stations is in progress and is dependent upon the availability of Infrastructure like Optical Fibre Cable at these stations. 
• Out of these, 55 stations are targeted for completion in this financial year.
• Zone-wise detail of Railway Stations where Wi-Fi is commissioned:

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 28 July 2021.

Source: PIB-Press Release | Image Credit: Northeast Frontier Railway