Among 24 infrastructure sectors, the Indian Railways remains in the second position for having the highest number of delayed projects, with the road transport and highways sector holding the first position. The count of railway-related projects that faced delays has risen from 56 in 2022 to 98 in 2023. Notably, seven out of the ten mega projects experiencing delays in the country are linked to the Indian Railways, including the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail line, which is over 21 years behind its original schedule.
Currently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division is monitoring a total of 1,646 infrastructure projects across 24 sectors, which includes 148 railway projects. As of July 2023, a report presented to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and other arms of the Central government indicated that 809 projects (including 98 from the railways) are facing delays compared to their initial completion dates. Out of these, 213 projects (including nine railway projects) are significantly behind schedule, leading to substantial cost overruns.
The reasons for the delays in these projects are attributed to issues like delays in land acquisition, obtaining necessary clearances, tendering processes, contractual problems, manpower shortages, technical approval delays, law and order issues, and litigation initiated by the relevant monitoring divisions of the Central government. Some of the notable projects facing delays and cost escalations include the Ramganjmund-Bhopal rail line, Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail line, Lalitpur-Satna-Rewa Singruli project, and the BG rail line from Byrnihat to Shilong.
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