Guwahati, July 24: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday that Union Budget 2024-25 allocated Rs 10,376 crore for railway projects in the northeastern states, which is about five times higher than the average allocation of Rs 2,122 crore made during 2009-14.
During a virtual interaction with mediapersons from the northeast, the Railway Minister said the Gross Budget Allocation for the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is Rs 14,183.69 crore for FY 2024-25. During the interaction, NFR General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava informed that adequate funds have been allotted for all infrastructure and safety-related works in the northeast as compared to the previous years.
Shrivastava also said that electrification of 921 RKM was done during 2023-24 while 1,573 RKM of tracks are targeted to be electrified during 2024-25. This will complete the electrification of all the northeastern states, for which Rs 694.69 crore has been allocated, he said. Shrivastava also said that this year, the Budget allocations show unprecedented growth in several segments for NFR with around Rs 8,378.53 crore allotted for new lines and doubling projects.
Giving top priority to safety and operations, Rs 1305.07 crore has been allocated for track renewal and bridge works, and Rs 170 crore for signalling and telecom works. The Budget also allocated Rs 537 crore to improve passenger amenities in the station premises. As many as 18 railway infrastructure projects of 1,368 km length with a total investment of Rs 74,972 crore are going on in the entire northeastern region, Shivastava said.
According to NFR officials, 60 stations will be redeveloped with world-class facilities under the Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme. Out of these, 50 are in Assam, four in Tripura, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim. A record number of 470 road over bridges road under bridges has been constructed since 2014 under NFR's jurisdiction by replacing the existing level crossing gates to enhance safety for road and rail users.
