38 Major Rail Projects Worth ₹89,780 Crore Sanctioned in Maharashtra, 2,292 km Tracks Commissioned: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The railway budget allocation for Maharashtra has seen a substantial rise in recent years, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha on Saturday. Funding for infrastructure development and safety initiatives in the state has surged nearly 20 times compared to the 2009-2014 period, when the annual average was about ₹1,171 crore. For FY 2025-26, a massive ₹23,778 crore has been earmarked for railway projects in Maharashtra. As of April 1, 2025, 38 sanctioned projects — including 11 new lines, two gauge conversions, and 25 doubling works covering 5,098 km — have been approved, with ₹39,407 crore spent till March 2025.

In the past three years — FY 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and the ongoing financial year — the government has sanctioned 27 multi-tracking projects spanning 1,991 km and costing nearly ₹47,126 crore, covering areas fully or partly in Maharashtra. The commissioning rate for sections such as new lines, gauge conversions, and doubling has risen dramatically — from 292 km (58.4 km/year) during 2009-14 to 2,292 km (208.36 km/year) between 2014-25. Projects such as the Bhusawal–Khandwa 3rd and 4th lines (131 km, ₹3,285 crore) and the Murtizapur–Achalpur Gauge Conversion (77 km) in Amravati district are among the major ongoing works.

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These multi-tracking and gauge conversion projects are expected to significantly improve Maharashtra’s railway network capacity, enabling faster movement of goods and passengers, easing congestion, and boosting logistics efficiency. The initiatives are also projected to create direct and indirect job opportunities, enhance the tourism sector, and stimulate industrial growth in the region. Work on the high-speed bullet train project in Maharashtra has also accelerated, with 100% land acquisition completed. Construction of bridges, aqueducts, and other key structures is underway. Additionally, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), of which 178 route km runs through Maharashtra, has partially opened, with the New Gholvad–New Vaitarna (76 km) section already commissioned.

The Western DFC’s planned connectivity to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) is expected to enhance cargo and container movement from the port to the Delhi NCR, strengthening the freight ecosystem. Remaining construction works along the DFC in Maharashtra are in progress. Railway projects in the state come under the jurisdiction of five zones — Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway, South Western Railway, and Western Railway. Vaishnaw, while replying to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha, stressed that these developments reflect the government’s commitment to expanding Maharashtra’s rail infrastructure, improving operational efficiency, and positioning the state as a critical hub for passenger and freight transport in the years ahead.