(a) the total length of existing meter gauge rail sections in the country;
(b) whether the Railways have fixed any targets to complete the gauge conversion of the remaining meter gauge rail sections especially from Jaipur junction to Churu junction into broad gauge;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the time by which the work related to gauge conversion is likely to be completed on the said rail section?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a): The total length of metre gauge railway line (route kilometres) in the country as on 31.03.2014 (latest available) is 5,334 kilometres.
(b) to (d): Indian Railways have a huge throwforward of ongoing projects and limited overall availability of funds. As such, it is not possible to allocate adequate funds to these projects on a regular basis which is a pre-requisite to fix time lines. Therefore, it is not feasible to fix a time frame for completion of gauge conversion of remaining Meter Gauge rail sections, including Jaipur-Churu line.