Question : New Rajdhani for North-Eastern Region

(a) whether the Ministry of Railways would consider to give the fourth Rajdhani Express for the region with eight States, to ease the pressure of travellers from North East;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the assessment made by the Ministry on the number of passengers to North East;

(c) whether the Government is considering a new Rajdhani route from Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh to New Delhi along the northern bank of Brahmaputra with stoppage at Patsala; and

(d) if so, the details in this regard?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY


(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)


(a) The demand pattern on Indian Railways is not uniform throughout the year and it varies during the peak and lean seasons. The demand for reserved accommodation surges especially during the peak season like during festival season and vacations. On such occasions, various measures like running of special trains, enhancement of the composition of more popular trains, attachment of extra coaches in the existing trains, are undertaken factoring the pattern of traffic, commercial justification and operational feasibility.
At present, four pairs of Rajdhani Express services namely 20503/20504 New Delhi-Dibrugarh Town Rajdhani Express, 20505/20506 New Delhi-Dibrugarh Town Rajdhani Express, 20501/20502 Anand Vihar (T)-Agartala Rajdhani Express and 12423/12424 New Delhi-Dibrugarh Town Rajdhani Express are adequately catering to the needs of passengers of North East region. However, introduction of trains over Indian Railways on various sectors is a continuous process and an ongoing process subject to operational feasibility, resource availability, etc.

(b) Regular analysis and periodic reviews on quota utilization, occupancy and patronage of trains, including the trains to and from the North Eastern region is undertaken by Indian Railways. However, state-wise assessments are not done since the operations of Indian Railways spread across different regions. During Financial Year 2018-19, 110.32 million passengers were booked on North East Frontier Railway which primarily serves the North East region.


(c) & (d) At present, there is no such proposal. However, presently, one pair of train services viz. 22411/22412 Naharlagun – Anand Vihar(T) Express (Bi-weekly) is serving the Naharlagun-Delhi sector. Besides, passengers of Pathsala can avail the services of two pairs of Delhi bound Rajdhani Express from Rangiya station.

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