SRINAGAR: The Ministry of Railways has informed Parliament that railway infrastructure projects covering 272 kilometres are currently sanctioned in Jammu and Kashmir, but no deadline has been fixed for their completion.
In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that, as on 1 April 2026, Indian Railways had 514 infrastructure projects—including new lines, gauge conversion and doubling—covering 40,000 km at an estimated cost of Rs 8.31 lakh crore across the country.
The ministry said Jammu and Kashmir has three sanctioned railway projects, comprising one new line and two doubling projects, with a total length of 272 km and an estimated cost of Rs 41,522 crore.
According to the ministry, 119 km of the sanctioned network in Jammu and Kashmir has already been commissioned, while expenditure of Rs 17,028 crore had been incurred on the projects up to March 2026.
The government did not specify any completion timeline for the projects, stating that completion depends on factors such as land acquisition, forest and wildlife clearances, shifting of utilities, geological conditions, law and order issues and availability of funds.
The Railways Ministry said project execution is being closely monitored at various levels, with regular reviews conducted by senior officials to expedite implementation and remove bottlenecks.
Nationally, the ministry said Indian Railways commissioned 36,429 km of new track between 2014 and 2026, compared with 7,599 km during 2009-14. It added that 12,583 km of railway infrastructure projects had been completed out of the sanctioned 40,000 km network by March 2026, with expenditure of over Rs 3.05 lakh crore.
