Bihar’s rail infrastructure saw 9-Fold Rise in 11 Years: Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Arun Kumar Das

New Delhi, July 23 (BVI): The state of Bihar has witnessed a major boost in rail infrastructure, connectivity and services in the last 11 years, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said today.

Describing the growth as “historic”, Vaishnaw said there is a 9-fold rise in budgetary allocation which include 52 railway projects worth ₹86,107 Cr sanctioned for Bihar while key river bridges — Munger, Patna and Kosi recently completed.

Speaking in Parliament, he noted that 20 Vande Bharat trains are currently catering to Bihar out of 144 operational across the country while 10 out of 14 Amrit Bharat Express services in India cater to Bihar.

He further said 558 Rail overbridge/Rail Overbridge (ROBs/RUBs) completed during 2014-25 while 218 more ROBs/ RUBs at an estimated cost of Rs 6,014 Cr sanctioned in the state.

Giving details about the railway sector in the Assembly election-bound state, the Union Minister said the projects include three important bridges across Ganga and Kosi rivers -Munger bridge, Patna Bridge and Kosi bridge.

These are mega bridges with longer spans requiring expertise of high nature. Therefore, IITs/NITs were engaged in checking the designs and me,thodology of construction of these bridges.

Though these Bridges were sanctioned long before 2014 but substantial progress in the construction of these bridges could be achieved only after 2014. Proper planning, adoption of efficient execution methodologies and availability of sufficient funds were ensured for expediting these projects in Bihar.

Railway projects are surveyed/sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise as the Railways’ projects may span across State boundaries.

Railway projects are sanctioned on the basis of remunerative ness, traffic projections, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, demands raised by State Governments, Central Ministries, Members of Parliament, other public representatives, Railway’s own operational requirement, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon throw forward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.

He said completion of any Railway projects depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forestry clearance by officials of forest department, deposition of State share by the State Government in cost sharing projects, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project/s site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions, etc and all these factors affect the completion time of the projects.

In order to improve mobility and safety of train operations and road users, manned level crossings are also eliminated in a phased manner.

The Ministry of Railways has launched the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. It envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach.

It involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, platform surfacing and cover over platform, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station.

The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term.

So far, 1337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme, out of which 98 stations are located in the state of Bihar. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Bihar have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works have completed at Pirpainti and Thawe railway stations in the state of Bihar and progress of some of the above stations is as given below:

At Saharsa station, structural works of new station building including new waiting hall and toilet block, improvement of parking area, circulating area development, entrance gate, boundary wall in circulating area have been completed and work of construction of new 12 m wide Foot Over Bridge, new platform shelters have been taken up.

At Salauna station, structural works of new station building, development of new parking area, raising and surfacing of platform no. 2 have been completed and work of construction of new 12 m Foot Over Bridge, circulating area improvement, raising of platform no. 1, new platform shelter work has been taken up.

At Lakhisarai station, structural work of the new station building and new toilet block have been completed. Brickwork and plaster of new station building and toilet block, circulating area development work, drain work, porch erection work have been taken up.

At Gaya station, structural work of the second entry (West side) departure and arrival building, main entry (East side) departure building, new pilgrimage building and underground tank have been completed. Two floors of new multi-level two-wheeler parking have been commissioned, work on additional two floors has been taken up. Work of construction of air concourse, finishing work of station buildings, new platform shelters, circulating area development etc. have been taken up.

At Muzaffarpur Station, structural work of the new Combined Terminal Building has been completed and a new ticket booking office is commissioned. Structural work of second entry side arrival and departure block building and service buildings have been completed. Works of construction of main entry station building, finishing work of second entry side station buildings, construction of Foot Over Bridge, circulating area development, elevated road work have been taken up. (BVI)