(a) whether the Railways have conducted surveys on laying of new lines and gauge conversion of existing lines in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof, zone-wise along with the total length of meter gauge and narrow gauge railway lines in various States, including Uttar Pradesh which are yet to be converted into broad gauge lines; and
(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Railways for early completion of ongoing work on new lines and gauge conversion in the country?
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS (SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU)
(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 210 BY SHRI RAGHAV LAKHANPAL AND SHRI P.K. BIJU TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 08.12.2014 REGARDING SURVEY FOR LAYING OF RAILWAY LINES
(a) & (b): Yes Madam. Railways have conducted 177 nos. of surveys for new lines and 10 nos. of surveys for gauge conversion in the last three years & current year. Zone-wise details of number of surveys conducted in the last three years and current year is appended as Appendix-I.
As on 01.04.2014, 5708 Km of Meter Gauge and 2297 Km of Narrow Gauge lines exist in the country. State-wise details of length of Meter Gauge/Narrow Gauge track, including the State of Uttar Pradesh, is appended as Appendix-II. Out of these, only 2754 Km of Meter Gauge & 1542 Km of Narrow Gauge have been sanctioned for conversion.
(c): Railways have a huge throwforward of ongoing projects & limited overall availability of funds. As such, it is not possible to allocate adequate funds to all ongoing projects. However, a number of initiatives have been taken to generate additional resources through non-budgetary measures like funding by State Governments and other beneficiaries, execution of projects through Special Purpose Vehicle basis etc. To reduce delays on account of land acquisition, security issues and forestry clearances etc, meetings with Central Government & State Governments at various levels are also held from time to time.