Major Railway Projects Underway in Himachal Pradesh to Strengthen Connectivity, Enhance Passenger Convenience and Promote Regional Development
Major Railway Projects Underway in Himachal Pradesh to Strengthen Connectivity, Enhance Passenger Convenience and Promote Regional Development
Amb Andaura is an existing station on Morinda – Rupnagar – Anandpur Sahib – Daulatpur Chowk line which is taken up for extension and join Mukerian on Jalandhar – Jammu Route. Nangal Dam – Daulatpur Chowk (60 km) of this project has been commissioned. Works have been taken up in Daulatpur Chowk – Mukerian (42 km). Section wise progress is as under:
A. Daulatpur Chowk- Kartoli Punjab (10.5 km) : All Works completed.
B. Kartoli Punjab – Talwara (13.65 km) :
Activity
Scope
Status
Viaduct
9.2 km
Works taken up, about 25% completed
Major Bridges
1
Works taken up
Minor Bridges
7
Works taken up
ROBs
2
Works taken up
RUBs
8
Works taken up
C. Talwara –Mukerian( 28.70 km) :
Activity
Scope
Status
Major Bridges
13
Works taken up, about 70% completed
RUBs
40
29 completed, Works taken up in balance 11 RUBs
Station Building
3
2 completed, Works taken up in balance 1 Station Building
Chandigarh-Baddi New line(33 km)
Chandigarh-baddi (33 km) new line project is sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 1540 crore on 50:50 cost sharing basis with Government of Himachal Pradesh. The work of Chandigarh-Baddi (30 km) new rail line project has been taken up. An expenditure of Rs. 1068.88 crore has been incurred up to February’26.
Progress of the project is affected due to non-deposition of their share of project cost by Government of Himachal Pradesh. Details are as under:
Total Expenditure (Cr)
Share of
Govt. of Himachal Pradesh (50%) (Cr)
Money deposited by
Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
(Cr)
Balance
(Cr)
1069
534
348
186
Status of the project is as under:
S. No.
Activity
Scope
Status
1
Land Acquisition
97 Ha
Completed
2
Forest Clearance
–
Completed
3
Viaduct
9 km
Works taken up, 75% completed
4
Major Bridges
15
Works taken up
5
ROBs
2
Works taken up
6
Station Building
3
Works taken up
Moreover, to improve rail connectivity in Himachal Pradesh, Survey for Baddi-Ghanauli new line (25 Km) has been completed and Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared.
Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri New Line (63km)
Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri (63km) New Rail Line project has been sanctioned on cost sharing basis having 25% share of State Government of Himachal Pradesh and 75 % share of Central Government. Further, full cost of land beyond Rs. 70 crore is to be borne by Government of Himachal Pradesh. Detailed Estimate of the project was sanctioned at a cost of Rs.6753 crore including land cost of Rs. 1617 crore.
Land acquisition status:
In Himachal Pradesh, 124 Ha of land is required for the execution of the project. Against this requirement, only 82 Ha have been provided by State Government of Himachal Pradesh. Work has been taken up on the available land. Land beyond Bilaspur to Beri is yet to be handed over by Government of Himachal Pradesh. Non-availability of land is adversely affecting the project.
An expenditure of Rs.7,729 crore has been incurred. Details are as under:
Total Expenditure (Cr)
Share of Govt. of
Himachal Pradesh (50%) (Cr)
Money deposited by
Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
(Cr)
Balance
(Cr)
7,729
2,781
847
1,934
Status of the project:
S N
Activity
Scope
Status
1
Tunnel
16
15 completed, Works taken up in balance 1 tunnel
2
Major Bridges
27
10 completed, Works taken up in 14 bridges
3
ROBs
8
6 completed, Works taken up in balance 2 ROBs
4
RUBs
5
4 completed, Works taken up in balance 1 RUB
5
Station Building
6
3 completed, Works taken up in balance 3 stations
The progress of this project is affected due to non fulfillment of their commitments by State Govt.
The Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Himachal Pradesh.
Bilaspur – Manali – Leh New line (489 km)
Bilaspur – Manali – Leh new line is identified as strategic line by Ministry of Defence. The survey has been completed and Detailed Project Report has been prepared. The project passes through difficult terrain of Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems. The total length of the project is 489 Km including tunnels of 270 km length. Anticipated cost of the project as per Detailed Project Report is ₹1,31,000 crore.
The alignment passes through Beri, Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Sissu, Darcha, Keylong, Sarchu, Pang, Rumtse, Upshi, Kharu and terminates at Leh Terminus, connecting important towns of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
Pathankot – Joginder Nagar Gauge Conversion (200 km)
Survey of Gauge Conversion of existing Pathankot – Joginder Nagar narrow gauge section (200 Km) has been sanctioned and field survey has been taken up for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR).
After preparation of DPR, sanctioning of project requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments and necessary approvals viz. appraisal of NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defence etc. As sanctioning of projects is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed.
Himachal Pradesh :
Railway Budget:
Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/ partly in the state of Himachal Pradesh is as under:
Period
Outlay
2009-14
₹108 crore/year
2025-26
₹ 2716 Cr. (More than 25 times)
Projects sanctioned:
As on 01.04.2025, 03 new line of total length 214 km, costing ₹17,622 crore, falling fully/partly in the state of Himachal Pradesh are in construction stage, out of which, 64 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹8,280 crore has been incurred upto March, 2025. The status of work is summarized as under:-
Category
No. of projects
Total Length
(in Km)
Length
Commissioned (in Km)
Expenditure upto March 2025
(₹in Cr)
New Lines
3
214
64
8,280
Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:
Land acquisition by State Government
Forest clearance
Shifting of infringing utilities
Statutory clearances from various authorities
Geological and topographical conditions of area
Law and order situation in the area of project site
Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.
All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s.
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 Rajya Sabha today.