Network expansion has been taken up in a big way on Indian Railways including the rail network situated in Maharashtra. Budget allocation has increased significantly during last 10 years. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra is as under:

Kalyan - Murbad (28 Km.) new line project has been sanctioned in at a cost of ₹836 crore on 50:50 cost sharing basis with Government of Maharashtra. It has been declared as Special Railway Project for Land acquisition. The project requires 214 Ha. land. Land acquisition proposals have been submitted to state government and it is in various stages of acquisition.

Increasing train handling capacity in Mumbai area:

Presently, about 120 originating Mail/Express trains and about 3200 sub urban trains are handled daily in Mumbai area. To increase train handling capacity at various stations in Mumbai area, following works have been completed/taken up/planned at various stations:

Platform length extension:

In addition to above, Platform extension work at 34 stations to accommodate 15 car EMUs have been taken up.

New projects for increasing capacity:

To improve the capacity of rail network in Mumbai suburban area, Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-II costing ₹8,087 crore, MUTP-III costing ₹10,947 crore and MUTP-IIIA costing ₹33,690 crore have been sanctioned. These projects include following works in Mumbai Suburban Area:

New generation trains:

To enhance passenger carrying capacity, 238 rakes of 12 cars each with doors have been sanctioned under MUTP-III & IIIA at a cost of ₹19,293 crore. The process for procurement of these rakes has been taken up.

Bullet Train project:

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508 km) is the only HSR Project under execution. The Project is passing through the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli with 12 stations planned at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.

Entire land (1389.5 Ha.) for MAHSR project has been acquired. All Statutory Clearances have been obtained.  All 1651 utilities have been shifted. The delay in land acquisition in the State of Maharashtra has impacted the project till 2021. The land acquisition picked up in 2022 in Maharashtra.

The progress of various major items so far is as under:

Gujarat (352 KM): 

Maharashtra (156KM):

Out of total 12 stations, foundation works has been completed at 8 stations (Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Anand, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati). In Maharashtra section, foundation work is in progress at 3 stations (Thane, Virar, Boisar) and excavation work at BKC station is near completion and Casting of base slab started.

17 river bridges have been completed. Work is in advance stage for 4 major river bridges (Narmada, Mahi, Tapti and Sabarmati) in Gujarat & in progress in 4 river bridges in Maharashtra. Work on Depots (Thane, Surat and Sabarmati) is in full swing.

 Civil works at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) are progressing satisfactorily. Excavation works have achieved about 91% progress, and concreting works are at various stages, with 100% completion of the basement slab at Level-4. The work of the under-sea tunnel (approximately 21 km) has commenced, out of which 4.8 km of tunnel between Ghansoli and Shilphata in Maharashtra has been completed.

To ensure seamless passenger connectivity, the Government has planned multi-modal integration of Bullet Train stations with the existing Mumbai suburban railway network and upcoming metro lines. The integration includes passenger connectivity with Metro Line-2B and Metro Line-3 through convenient pedestrian access at BKC station.

Bullet train project is a very complex and technology intensive Project. Exact timelines for the completion of the project can be reasonably ascertained after the completion of all associated works of Civil Structures, Track, Electrical, Signaling& Telecommunication and supply of Trainsets.

Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal:

To improve the efficiency of rail freight handling at the terminals, Indian Railway has adopted two-pronged approach: encouraging development of modern rail freight terminals under Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT) policy and augmenting/upgrading the infrastructure at railway owned goods sheds. Upto 05.03.2026, 128 GCTs have been commissioned and In Principle Approvals for 288 GCTs have been issued across Indian Railways. In Maharashtra, 09 GCTs(Mukutban, Patas, Dinegaon, New Pandhar Pavani, Kalmeshwar (KSWR), Sindi (SNI), Nardana, Moorsa, New Makardhokda) have been commissioned and In Principle Approvals for 22 GCTs have been issued.

Dedicated Freight Corridor:

Western DFC also passes through Maharashtra. About 178 route Km of western DFC is situated in Maharashtra which is about 12% of overall route length of western DFC. 76 Km of this project from New Gholvad to New Vaitarna in Maharashtra has already been commissioned. Balance works have been taken up. Connectivity of WDFC to JNPT will boost the capacity to handle cargo and container traffic from port to Delhi NCR.

Further, during  the last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current financial year 2025-26, 98 surveys (29 New Line, 2 Gauge Conversion and 67 Doubling) of total length 8,615 Km falling fully/ partly in the State of Maharashtra, have been sanctioned.

This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to questions in Lok Sabha today.

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Dharmendra Tewari/ Manik Sharma