₹29,353 crore spent to upgrade railway infrastructure in Bihar so far, says Vaishnaw

Fifty-two railway projects worth ₹86,107 crore have been sanctioned for Bihar, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (July 23, 2025).

As on April 1, 31 new lines, one gauge conversion and 20 doubling projects of a total length of 4,663 km and costing ₹86,107 crore, falling fully or partly in Bihar, were sanctioned, he said. Out of this, 1,014 km of lines has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹29,353 crore has been incurred up to March 2025, Mr. Vaishnaw added. 

The Minister said that Bihar’s railway budget has seen a nine-fold rise in 11 years. Key river bridges such as Munger, Patna and Kosi have been completed. “These are mega bridges with longer spans requiring expertise of high nature. Therefore, IITs and NITs were engaged for checking the designs and methodology of construction of these bridges,” Mr. Vaishnaw said. 

“Though these bridges were sanctioned long before 2014, but substantial progress in the construction of these bridges could be achieved only after 2014,” he added. 

During 2014-25, 558 road over- and under-bridges (ROBs/RUBs) were constructed in Bihar. Further, 218 ROBs and RUBs at a cost of ₹6,014 crore are sanctioned in the State, which are at various stages of planning and execution, he said. 

Mr. Vaishnaw stated that the Sheohar–Sitamarhi rail project has gained momentum. “Twenty Vande Bharat trains out of 144 operational across the country cater to Bihar. Also, 10 out of 14 Amrit Bharat Express services cater to Bihar,” he said.

So far, 1,337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme, out of which 98 stations are located in the Bihar. Till now, phase-I works have been completed at Pirpainti and Thawe railway stations in Bihar. Works are in progress at Saharsa, Salauna, Luckeesarai, Gaya and Muzzafarpur stations, the Minister said.