Hyderabad: Railway infrastructure works in Telangana are progressing at a brisk pace, with 21 major projects worth Rs 40,769 crore currently under various stages of execution across the state. According to a reply by Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Telangana has six new railway line projects and 15 track-doubling projects covering a total length of 2,347 km. Of these, 677 km have been commissioned so far, with expenditure of Rs 12,105 crore incurred till March.Among the major ongoing projects are the 174-km Malkangiri–Pandurangapuram via Bhadrachalam new line, estimated to cost Rs 3,592 crore; the Secunderabad–Wadi third and fourth railway lines costing over Rs 5,000 crore; and the Munirabad–Mahabubnagar new line, with an estimated cost of nearly Rs 4,000 crore.The ministry, however, identified land acquisition as the biggest hurdle delaying infrastructure works in Telangana. Of the 2,792 hectares required for the ongoing projects, only 1,772 hectares (63%) have been acquired, leaving 1,020 hectares (37%) yet to be handed over. The Guntur-Bibinagar doubling and Mudkhed-Medchal & Mahabubnagar-Dhone doubling projects are among those facing major delays due to pending land acquisition.The Centre said the pace of railway construction has increased significantly, with 888 km of new tracks commissioned between 2014 and 2026, averaging nearly 74 km annually. Over the past three years and the current financial year, railways has also sanctioned 31 surveys, including 15 new lines and 16 doubling projects covering a total length of 3,902 km in Telangana.The reply also stated that Indian Railways introduced 21 pairs of new train services for Telangana during 2025-26 and up to June 30, including 10 Amrit Bharat express services connecting Charlapalli with destinations such as Shalimar, Kamakhya, Thiruvananthapuram north and Muzaffarpur. On freight infrastructure, the ministry said six Gati Shakti Multi-Modal cargo terminals have already been commissioned in Telangana at Sattupalli, Sultanabad, Tipparthy, Ramagundam, Chityal and Vishnupuram, while eight more locations have received in-principle approval.The Centre also stated that 118 road over bridges (ROBs) and road under bridges (RUBs), costing about Rs 4,883 crore, have been sanctioned in Telangana. However, 16 ROB projects have been delayed, including 15 due to land acquisition by the state govt and one due to pending alignment finalisation.
