Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Marathwada is set to witness a major expansion in railway connectivity, with more than 1,125 km of new railway lines expected to take shape in the coming years. Some of these routes have completed survey work, some have their Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) prepared, while land acquisition is currently underway for others. The development of these routes is expected to give the region’s rail network a significant boost in speed and accessibility.
Among the key projects, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar–Beed–Dharashiv (240 km) and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar–Chalisgaon (93 km) routes completed their LiDAR survey in August. The DPR for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar–Ahilyanagar (85 km) route was submitted to the Central Government six months ago. Land acquisition work has also begun for the long-pending Jalna–Jalgaon (174 km) rail line.
At present, trains traveling from Marathwada toward Delhi via North Maharashtra need to take a detour of 336 km through Manmad. Once the Jalna–Jalgaon project is completed, the travel distance will reduce to 174 km, significantly improving travel time and efficiency. Along with these major routes, several other new railway lines have also been approved for the region, marking a substantial strengthening of the railway network.
Marathwada has 885 km of operational railway routes. In addition to the new lines, efforts are also underway to improve existing infrastructure. The Manmad (Ankai)–Parbhani (275 km) route is set to be converted into a double line. Doubling work on the Manmad (Ankai)–Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (98 km) section is already in progress, while land acquisition has started for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar–Parbhani stretch.
Several new rail routes are part of the proposed expansion. These include the lines connecting Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Beed and Dharashiv 240 km; Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Chalisgaon 93 km ; Buldhana to Latur 135 km; Kalaburagi to Latur 139 km; Jalna to Khamgaon 155 km; Latur to Nanded 104 km ; Jalna to Jalgaon 174 km ; and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Ahilyanagar 85 km.
Railway analyst Swanand Solanke stated that although some routes have received administrative approval, little progress has been made on the ground. He added that several routes already have DPRs and survey reports ready, and urged that these projects receive financial allocation in the upcoming union Budget so that work can begin.