Empowered by a significant Union Budget allocation of Rs. 2,78,000 crores, the Railways is prioritizing investments in safety measures, freight operations, and high-speed connectivity. There has been a remarkable increase in Budget Grant for Railways in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha in 2026-27. Addressing a press meet through video conferencing from New Delhi, Hon’ble Railway Minister, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw said that there has been a big allocation in the Union Budget (2026-27) pertaining to Railways.
In this union budget, an allocation of Rs. 14,205 crores have been made for the state of West Bengal, which is three times more than the allocation of Rs. 4380 crores made during 2009–2014. 101 stations in West Bengal are being redeveloped as Amrit stations. Works of around Rs. 92,974 Cr worth are presently under progress in West Bengal. This massive investment covers track creation, station redevelopment, and safety enhancements across the entire state. 09 pairs of Vande Bharat trains are presently in operation in the state. Vande Bharat Sleeper Express: 1 pair of services currently operational. 11 pairs of Amrit Bharat Express services currently operational in the state.
Approx 1400 Kms of new Railway tracks were laid in the last 10 years. The state has achieved 100% electrification, with 1,712 km of rail lines electrified since 2014. Construction of 523 flyovers and underpasses during the last 11 years. Total 3200 Route KM has been sanctioned for installation of Kavach in the state of West Bengal. 7 new high-speed corridors were announced in this year’s budget. West Bengal will get its first Bullet train for the newly proposed High-speed corridor from Varanasi to Siliguri. A new freight corridor from Dankuni to Surat will ensure seamless logistics and freight movement covering West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. 45 Kms of new tracks were laid for the Kolkata metro in last 11 years.
For the state of Odisha, an allocation of Rs. 10,928 crores have been made in this year budget as compared to the allocation of Rs. 838 crores made during 2009–2014. 59 stations in Odisha are being redeveloped as Amrit stations. Total work worth 90,659 Cr under progress for infrastructure transformation in the state of Odisha. This massive investment covers track creation, station redevelopment, and safety enhancements across the entire state. Travel efficiency in the state has reached new heights with the expansion of premium train services, 6 pairs of Vande Bharat Express and 6 pairs of Amrit Bharat Express services are currently operational in the state. Since 2014, approximately 2,200 km of tracks have been constructed. The state has achieved 100% electrification, with 1,559 km of rail lines electrified since 2014. Sanctions has already been granted for installation of Kavach technology for 2922 Kms of railway tracks in the state. Construction of 632 flyovers and underpasses during the last 11 years. AI based thermal cameras, and optical fibre technologies will be implemented to ensure safe movement of elephants and cattle in the Elephant corridor zones of the state.
For the state of Jharkhand, an allocation of Rs. 7,536 crores have been made, which is 16 times more than the allocation of Rs. 457 crores made during 2009–2014. 57 stations in Jharkhand are being redeveloped as Amrit stations. Total work worth 63,470 Cr under progress for infrastructure transformation in the state of Jharkhand. This massive investment covers track creation, station redevelopment, and safety enhancements across the entire state. Travel efficiency in the state has reached new heights with the expansion of premium train services, 12 pairs of Vande Bharat Express and 4 pairs of Amrit Bharat Express services are currently operational in the state. The state has achieved 100% electrification, with 946 km of rail lines electrified since 2014. Sanctions have already been granted for installation of Kavach technology for 1907 Kms of railway tracks in the state. Since 2014, approximately 1,400 km of tracks have been constructed. This is more than the entire rail network of UAE. Construction of 486 flyovers and underpasses during the last 11 years in the state.
DRM Kharagpur, Shri Lalit Mohan Pandey briefed the members of the press and media present during the Video conferencing about the budgetary grant and various ongoing development works in Kharagpur Division. Addressing to the media queries, DRM Kharagpur mentioned that Railway projects for laying of 3 new lines: Kanthi-Egra new line, Nandakumar-Balaipanda New Line, and Nandigram-Kandiamari New line has been defreezed by the Railway board and work will commence very soon. He also mentioned that the division is closely monitoring the punctuality of Suburban and Express trains plying over the division and all measures are being taken to operate the train services on time. He also replied to various queries raised by the media persons regarding status of the undergoing works and other issues.
