Transformative Railway Development in Bihar: Major Boost in Infrastructure, Connectivity & Services
52 Railway Projects Worth ₹86,107 Cr Sanctioned for Bihar; Key River Bridges — Munger, Patna & Kosi Recently Completed
Sheohar–Sitamarhi Rail Project Gains Momentum
20 Vande Bharat Trains Catering to Bihar out of 144 Operational Across the Country; 10 Out of 14 Amrit Bharat Express Services in India Cater to Bihar
558 ROBs/RUBs Completed During 2014-25; Further, 218 ROBs/ RUBs at a cost of Rs. 6,014 Cr Sanctioned in Bihar
Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/ partly in the State of Bihar is as under:
| Period | Outlay |
| 2009-14 | Rs. 1132 Cr./year |
| 2025-26 | Rs. 10,066 Cr. (Nearly 9 times) |
The details of commissioning/ laying of new track falling fully/ partly in the State of Bihar during 2009-14 and 2014-25 is as under :-
| Period | New Track Commissioned | Average Commissioning of new tracks |
| 2009-14 | 318 Km | 63.6 Km |
| 2014-25 | 1899 Km | 172.6 (More than 2.5 times) |
Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Bihar are as under:
| Sl No | Project | Cost (In Crores of Rs) |
| 1 | Munger Bridge (19 km) | 2,774 |
| 2 | Kosi Bridge (22 Km) | 516 |
| 3 | Patna Bridge (40 Km) | 3,555 |
| 4 | Hajipur-Bachwara Doubling (72 km) | 930 |
| 5 | Kiul-Gaya Doubling (123 km) | 1,200 |
| 6 | Karota Patner-Mankatha – Surface triangle (8 km) | 129 |
| 7 | Rampurhat-Mandarhill New Line and Rampurhat-Murarai- 3rd line (160 km) | 1,500 |
| 8 | Jaynagar-Darbhanga-Narkatiaganjand Narkatiaganj-Bhikhna Tori Gauge Conversion (295 Km) | 1,193 |
| 9 | Sakri-Laukaha Bazar-Nirmali & Saharsa-Forbesganj Gauge Conversion (206 Km) | 2,113 |
| 10 | Bakhtiyarpur Flyover (4 Km) | 402 |
| 11 | Katareah-Kursela Patch Doubling incl. bridge on river Kosi (7 km) | 222 |
| 12 | Araria-Galgalia New Line (111 Km) | 4, 415 |
| 13 | Kiul-Tilaiya Railway Electrification (87 kms) | 105 |
| 14 | Valmikinagar-Sugauli-Muzaffarpur and Sugauli-Raxaul Railway Electrification (240 km) | 351 |
The above projects include three important bridges across Ganga and Kosi rivers viz. Munger bridge, Patna Bridge and Kosi bridge. These are mega bridges with longer spans requiring expertise of high nature. Therefore, IITs/NITs were engaged for checking the designs and methodology of construction of these bridges.
Though these Bridges were sanctioned long before 2014 but substantial progress in the construction of these bridges could be achieved only after 2014. Proper planning, adoption of efficient execution methodologies and availability of sufficient funds were ensured for expediting these projects in Bihar.
Further, some of the main projects falling fully/partly in Bihar which have been taken up are as under:
| S No. | Project | Cost (In Crores of Rs) |
| 1 | Sitamarhi-Sheohar New Line (28 Km) | 567 |
| 2 | Sakri-Hasanpur New Line (76 Km) | 735 |
| 3 | Khagaria-Kusheshwarsthan New Line (42 Km) | 1511 |
| 4 | Neora-Daniawan–Biharsharif – Barbigha-Shekhpura New Line (166 Km) | 2200 |
| 5 | Koderma-Tilaiya New Line (65 Km) | 1626 |
| 6 | Hajipur-Sagauli New Line (151 Km) | 2087 |
| 7 | Araria-Supaul New Line (96 Km) | 1605 |
| 8 | Vikramshila-Katareah New Line with Bridge over River Ganga(26 Km) | 2090 |
| 9 | Pirpainti-Jasidih New Line (97 Km) | 2140 |
| 10 | Sonnagar – Patratu multitracking (291 Km)
| 5148 |
| 11 | Samastipur – Darbhanga Doubling (38 Km)
| 624 |
| 12 | Rampur Dumra – Tal-Rajendra Pul-Additional bridge and doubling (14 Km)
| 1677 |
| 13 | Sagauli-Valmiknagar Doubling (110 Km)
| 1280 |
| 14 | Muzaffarpur-Sugauli Doubling (101 Km) | 1465 |
| 15 | Barauni- Bachwara 3rd & 4th line (32 Km) | 124 |
Railway projects are surveyed/sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise as the Railways’ projects may span across State boundaries. Railway projects are sanctioned on the basis of remunerativeness, traffic projections, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, demands raised by State Governments, Central Ministries, Members of Parliament, other public representatives, Railway’s own operational requirement, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon throw forward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.
As on 01.04.2025, 52 projects(31 New Lines, 01 Gauge Conversions and 20 Doubling), of a total length of 4,663 km, costing Rs.86,107 crore, falling fully/partly in Bihar, are sanctioned, out of which 1,014 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of 29,353 crore has been incurred up to March’ 2025. The summary is as under:-
| Category | No of sanctioned Projects | Total Length NL/GC/DL (in Km) | Length Commissioned till Mar’25 (in Km) | Total Exp up to Mar’25 ( in Cr) |
| New Lines | 31 | 2691 | 516 | 16814 |
| Gauge Conversion | 1 | 69 | 52 | 544 |
| Doubling/Multi-tracking | 20 | 1904 | 446 | 11995 |
| Total | 52 | 4663 | 1014 | 29353 |
Completion of any Railway project/s depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forestry clearance by officials of forest department, deposition of State share by the State Government in cost sharing projects, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project/s site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions, etc and all these factors affect the completion time of the project/s. With above constraints, every effort is being made to complete these projects at the earliest.
Moreover to improve the further connectivity in the State of Bihar following important surveys have been taken up:
| S No. | Project | Length (Km) |
| 1 | Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Kiul 3rd & 4th Line | 390 |
| 2 | Chhapra-Katihar 3rd & 4th Line | 450 |
| 3 | Nawada-Pawapuri New Line | 33 |
| 4 | Bihta-Aurangabad New Line | 120 |
| 5 | Bhagalpur-Jamalpur 3rd Line | 53 |
| 6 | Fatuha-Bakhtiyarpur 3rd and 4th Line | 24 |
| 7 | Bakhtiyarpur-Tilaiya doubling | 104 |
| 8 | Rampurhat-Dumka-Bhagalpur doubling | 177 |
ROBs/RUBs in Bihar
In order to improve mobility and safety of train operations and road users, manned level crossings are also eliminated in phased manner. Sanctioning and execution of works of ROBs/RUBs in lieu of LCs is a continuous and ongoing process on Indian Railways. Such works are prioritized and taken up on the basis of its impact on safety and mobility in train operations and impact on road users.
During 2014-2025, 558 ROBs/RUBs were constructed in Bihar. Further, 218 Nos. Road Over Bridge (ROB)/Road Under Bridge (RUB) at a cost of Rs. 6,014 crore are sanctioned in the State of Bihar, which are at various stages of planning and execution.
Station Redevelopment in Bihar
The Ministry of Railways has launched the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. It envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, platform surfacing and cover over platform, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station.
The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term.
So far, 1337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme, out of which 98 stations are located in the state of Bihar. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Biharare as following:
| State | No. of Amrit Stations | Names of Amrit Stations |
| Bihar | 98 | Anugraha Narayan Road, Ara, Arariya Court, Bakhtiyarpur, Banka, Banmankhi, BapudhamMotihari, Barahiya, Barauni, Barh, Barsoi Jn, Begusarai, Bettiah, Bhabua Road, Bhagalpur, Bhagwanpur, Bihar Sharif, Bihiya, Bikramganj, Buxar, Chakia, Chausa, Chhapra, |
| Dalsingh Sarai, Darbhanga, DauramMadhepura, Dehri On Sone, Dholi, Dighwara, Dumraon, Durgauti, Ekma, Fatuha, Gaya, Ghorasahan, Guraru, Hajipur Jn, Jamalpur Jn, Jamui, Janakpur Road, Jaynagar, Jehanabad, Jhanjharpur, Kahalgaon, Karhagola Road, Katihar Jn, Khagaria Jn, Kishanganj, Kudra, Labha, Laheria Sarai, Lakhminia, Luckeesarai Jn, Madhubani, Maheshkhunt, Mairwa, Mansi Jn, Masrakh, Mokama, Motipur, Munger (Monghyr), Muzaffarpur Jn, Nabinagar Road, Narkatiaganj Jn, Naugachia, Nawadah, Paharpur, Patliputra, Patna Jn, Piro, Pirpainti, Rafiganj, Raghunathpur., Rajendra Nagar Terminal (Patna), Rajgir, Ram Dayalu Nagar, Raxaul, Sabaur, Sagauli, Saharsa, Sahibpur Kamal, Sakri, Salauna, Salmari, Samastipur, Sasaram, Shahpur Patoree, Shivanarayanpur, SimriBakhtiyarpur, Simultala, Sitamarhi, Siwan, Sonpur Jn., Sultanganj, Supaul, Taregna, Thakurganj, Thawe |
Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Bihar have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works have completed at Pirpainti and Thawe railway stations in the state of Bihar and progress of some of the above stations is as given below:
● At Saharsa station, structural works of new station building including new waiting hall and toilet block, improvement of parking area, circulating area development, entrance gate, boundary wall in circulating area have been completed and work of construction of new 12 m wide Foot Over Bridge, new platform shelters have been taken up.
● At Salauna station, structural works of new station building, development of new parking area, raising and surfacing of platform no. 2 have been completed and work of construction of new 12 m Foot Over Bridge, circulating area improvement, raising of platform no. 1, new platform shelter work have been taken up.
● At Luckeesarai station, structural work of the new station building and new toilet block have been completed. Brickwork and plaster of new station building and toilet block, circulating area development work, drain work, porch erection work have been taken up.
● At Gaya station, structural work of the second entry (West side) departure and arrival building, main entry (East side) departure building, new pilgrimage building and underground tank have been completed. Two floors of new multi-level two-wheeler parking have been commissioned, work on additional two floors has been taken up. Work of construction of air concourse, finishing work of station buildings, new platform shelters, circulating area development etc. have been taken up.
● At Muzaffarpur Station, structural work of the new Combined Terminal Building has been completed and a new ticket booking office is commissioned. Structural work of second entry side arrival and departure block building and service buildings have been completed. Works of construction of main entry station building, finishing work of second entry side station buildings, construction of Foot Over Bridge, circulating area development, elevated road work have been taken up.
Vande Bharat/Amrit Bharat/Namo Bharat Train
Out of the 144 Vande Bharat train services presently operational on the Indian Railways (IR) network, following 20 Vande Bharat train services (on originating/terminating basis) are catering to the needs of various stations located in the State of Bihar:
1) 20983/84 Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express
2) 21893/94 Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express
3) 21895/96 Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express
4) 22233/34 New Jalpaiguri-Patna Vande Bharat Express
5) 22303/04 Howrah-Gaya Vande Bharat Express
6) 22309/10 Howrah-Bhagalpur Vande Bharat Express
7) 22345/46 Patna-Gomtinagar Vande Bharat Express
8) 22347/48 Howrah-Patna Vande Bharat Express
9) 22349/50 Patna-Ranchi Vande Bharat Express
10) 26501/02 Patliputra-Gorakhpur Vande Bharat Express
Similarly, of the 14 Amrit Bharat Express services operating on IR, 10 Amrit Bharat Express services (on originating/terminating basis) are catering to the needs of various stations located in the State of Bihar:
1) 15557/58 Darbhanga-Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express
2) 1101516 Saharsa-Lokmanya Tilak (T) Amrit Bharat Express
3) 15567/68 BapudhamMotihari-Anand Vihar(T) Amrit Bharat Express [introduced w.e.f. 18th July, 2025].
4) 15561/62 Darbhanga-Gomtinagar Amrit Bharat Express [introduced w.e.f. 18th July, 2025].
5) 22361/62 Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi Amrit Bharat Express [introduced w.e.f. 18th July, 2025].
Presently, 04 Namo Bharat Rapid Rail services are being operated by IR of which 02 Namo Bharat Rapid Rail viz. 94803/04 Jaynagar-Patna Namo Bharat Rapid Rail are catering to the stations located in the State of Bihar.
Railway infrastructural Projects in the State of Bihar are covered by East Central Railway (ECR), Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Eastern Railway (ER), North Eastern Railway (NER) Zone of Indian Railways. Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website.
This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply to questions in Lok Sabha today.
