Indian Railways Laid out 27,000 kms of Railway Lines in last Decade, says Ministry

The Indian Railways has laid an average of 7.41 kilometers of tracks per day over the past decade, according to data obtained from the Railways Ministry through a Right to Information (RTI) request. This figure includes the construction of new lines, doubling, tripling, and gauge conversion of existing tracks. The total length of tracks laid from 2014-15 to 2023-24 amounts to 27,057.7 kilometers.

Chandra Shekhar Gaur, based in Madhya Pradesh, who filed the RTI application, calculated the daily average based on the provided data.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently stated in press briefings that Indian Railways is currently adding approximately 15 kilometers of new tracks every day. He highlighted the significant increase from 4 kilometers per day in 2014 to the current rate.

In the fiscal year 2022-23, Indian Railways laid a total of 3,901 kilometers of tracks, including new lines (473 kilometers), doubling (3,185.53 kilometers), and gauge conversion (242.2 kilometers). However, the Indian Railways' website has not been updated beyond the fiscal year 2021-22.

Officials regard the fiscal year 2022-23 as unprecedented for Indian Railways, as it witnessed the highest number of track kilometers laid in its history.