Question : Regional Imbalance in Railway System

(a) whether the Railways has embarked upon ambitious plans to bridge regional imbalances in the matter of execution of the projects and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any study/survey has been conducted to identify the areas where infrastructure including the rail line, trains density etc. ought to be developed in the underdeveloped areas and if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Railways proposes to grant special railway zone status to such areas and if so, the details in this regard; and
(d) whether the Railways also proposes to provide financial resources for speedy development in the backward areas and if so, the details in this regard?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU)
(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 249 BY SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 11.05.2016 REGARDING REGIONAL IMBALANCE IN RAILWAY SYSTEM

(a) & (b): In the budget of 2015-16, a 5 year investment plan of `8,56,020 Crore was indicated comprising `1,99,320 Crore for Network decongestion, `1,93,000 Crore for Network expansion, `39,000 Crore for National Projects, `1,27,000 Crore for Safety, `5,000/- Crore for Information Technology / Research, `1,02,000/- for Rolling Stock, `12,500/- Crore for Passenger Amenities, `65,000/- Crore for High Speed Rail & Elevated corridor, `1,00,000/- Crore for Station redevelopment and logistic parks and `13,200/- Crore for Others.
Plan expenditure for 2015-16 and outlay for 2016-17 has been substantially enhanced to `93,700 crore and `1,21,000 crore respectively. This has been done with a view to removing capacity bottlenecks, building adequate carrying capacity and modernization of the safety/operational systems of Railways.
In the budget of 2016-17, it has been announced that in order to provide long term prospective to planning for augmenting the railway network, Indian railway will develop “National Rail Plan” (NRP-2030) in consultation with all the stake holders including state governments, public representatives and other relevant central ministries. NRP-2030 will endeavor to harmonise and integrate the rail networks with other modes of transport and create synergy for achieving seamless multi-model transportation network across the country.
(c) & (d): Railway zones have been established keeping in view the administrative and operational requirements. Investment in Railways is known to have a large multiplier effect on economic development of the country.
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