New Delhi, Indian Railways has laid an average of 7.41 km of tracks in the last ten years, which includes new line construction as well as doubling, tripling and gauge conversion of existing lines, according to a response to an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Ministry of Railways. Revealed through RTI Act.
According to data provided by the ministry, a total of 27057.7 km of railway tracks were laid in the ten years from 2014-15 to 2023-24, which includes construction of new lines, doubling and tripling of existing lines and conversion to meter gauge. Broad gauge.
“When I calculated the figures, the daily average km of track laid in the last three years came to around 7.41 km,” said Madhya Pradesh-based Chandra Shekhar Gaur, who filed the application.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said during a recent press briefing that Indian Railways is currently adding about 15 km of new tracks every day.
“Last year, the railways added 5,200 km of new tracks, which is equivalent to the entire network of Switzerland. This year we are adding 5,500 km.From 4 km per day in 2014, we are now adding about 15 km per day of new tracks,” Vaishna said during a press conference at Rail Bhawan on February 2, 2024.
The RTI response shows that in 2022-23, the Railways laid a total of 3,901 km of tracks including new (473 km), doubling (3185.53 km) and gauge conversion (242.2). The Indian Railways website, which shows such statistics, has not been updated as it still shows data till 2021-22.
Officials say 2022-23 can be seen as an unprecedented year for the Railways as it has laid the highest number of kilometers of track so far in its history.“In July 2021, Ashwini Vaishnav was given the charge of the Railway Ministry and I was under his leadership that the Railways achieved a historic feat by laying 3,901 kilometers of track, which is about 10.68 kilometers per day. This was unprecedented, said a railway official involved in infrastructure projects.
"Significant achievements were achieved due to increase in budgetary allocation, simplification of work allocation process and expediting the work order process," he said.
Gaur said the Railways, despite making significant progress, failed to sustain the momentum as the total track laying work declined from 3,901 km in 2022-23 to 2,966 km in 2023-24, reducing it to 8.12 km per day. .
The railways' second best performance was in the financial year 2018-19 when it laid a total of 3,596 km of track.Gaur also highlighted that new line construction work of the Railways is slow, with 4838.47 km of new lines laid at an average rate of 1.3 km per day in the last ten years.
The Railways' best performance in terms of laying new lines was in 2016-1 when it laid 953 km of new track, which works out to around 2.61 km per day.
Gaur said, "Construction of more new lines indicates that more new areas come under the rail network, while doubling and tripling will reduce over-utilization of existing tracks and ensure passenger safety as well as punctuality of trains." Good for improvement."
According to data provided by the ministry, a total of 27057.7 km of railway tracks were laid in the ten years from 2014-15 to 2023-24, which includes construction of new lines, doubling and tripling of existing lines and conversion to meter gauge. Broad gauge.
“When I calculated the figures, the daily average km of track laid in the last three years came to around 7.41 km,” said Madhya Pradesh-based Chandra Shekhar Gaur, who filed the application.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said during a recent press briefing that Indian Railways is currently adding about 15 km of new tracks every day.
“Last year, the railways added 5,200 km of new tracks, which is equivalent to the entire network of Switzerland. This year we are adding 5,500 km.From 4 km per day in 2014, we are now adding about 15 km per day of new tracks,” Vaishna said during a press conference at Rail Bhawan on February 2, 2024.
The RTI response shows that in 2022-23, the Railways laid a total of 3,901 km of tracks including new (473 km), doubling (3185.53 km) and gauge conversion (242.2). The Indian Railways website, which shows such statistics, has not been updated as it still shows data till 2021-22.
Officials say 2022-23 can be seen as an unprecedented year for the Railways as it has laid the highest number of kilometers of track so far in its history.“In July 2021, Ashwini Vaishnav was given the charge of the Railway Ministry and I was under his leadership that the Railways achieved a historic feat by laying 3,901 kilometers of track, which is about 10.68 kilometers per day. This was unprecedented, said a railway official involved in infrastructure projects.
"Significant achievements were achieved due to increase in budgetary allocation, simplification of work allocation process and expediting the work order process," he said.
Gaur said the Railways, despite making significant progress, failed to sustain the momentum as the total track laying work declined from 3,901 km in 2022-23 to 2,966 km in 2023-24, reducing it to 8.12 km per day. .
The railways' second best performance was in the financial year 2018-19 when it laid a total of 3,596 km of track.Gaur also highlighted that new line construction work of the Railways is slow, with 4838.47 km of new lines laid at an average rate of 1.3 km per day in the last ten years.
The Railways' best performance in terms of laying new lines was in 2016-1 when it laid 953 km of new track, which works out to around 2.61 km per day.
Gaur said, "Construction of more new lines indicates that more new areas come under the rail network, while doubling and tripling will reduce over-utilization of existing tracks and ensure passenger safety as well as punctuality of trains." Good for improvement."
