Press Information Bureau

Katihar Junction station is served by 172 passenger trains daily. Also, 25 Goods trains ply through the station daily. Presently, following facilities are available at Katihar Junction Station to cater passenger/freight traffic demand:

• 49 Lines

• 09 Platforms

• 04 Pit lines

• 02 Stabling lines

To improve connectivity in Seemanchal Region of Bihar with West Bengal and Northeastern States, following Projects/Surveys have been sanctioned:-

S.No.	Name of the Project	Status
1.	Katihar-Kumedpur Doubling (30 Km)	Katihar-Kuretha Section (11 Km) has been commissioned. 3 out of 7 Major Bridges have been completed.  All Minor Bridges have been completed.
2.	Katihar-Mukuria Doubling (35 Km)	Katihar-Sonaili Section (17 Km) has been commissioned.  3 out of 10 Major Bridges have been completed.  2 out of 5 Station Buildings is completed.
3.	Aluabari-Thakurganj Doubling (20 Km)	Project has been sanctioned recently at a cost of ₹326 crore.
4.	Thakurganj-Siliguri Doubling (57 Km)	Project has been sanctioned recently ₹916 crore.
5.	Aluabari Road-New Jalpaiguri 3rd & 4th Line (57 Km)	Project has been sanctioned recently ₹1,630 crore.
6.	Siliguri-New Jalpaiguri Doubling (7 Km)	Project has been sanctioned recently ₹326 crore.
7.	Aluabari-Kumedpur 3rd & 4th Line (129 Km)	Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared.
8.	Malda Town-Kumedpur 3rd & 4th Line (62 Km)	DPR has been prepared.
9.	Goldenganj-Katihar 3rd & 4th Line (300 Km)	DPR has been prepared.
10.	Arariya-Thakurganj Doubling (111 Km)	Final Location Survey (FLS) has been sanctioned for preparation of the DPR.
11.	Forbesganj-Lakshmipur New Line (18 Km)	FLS has been sanctioned for the preparation of the DPR.

Projects sanctioned in Northeast Frontier Railway:

As on 01.04.2026, 27 projects (14 New Lines, 02 Gauge Conversion and 11 Doubling), of total length of 2,183 Km, costing ₹76,631 crore falling in Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) are sanctioned. The summary is as under:-

Category	No. of projects	Total Length (in km)	Length Commissioned  (in Km)	Exp upto March 2026 (₹ in crore.)
New Line	14	781	207	36,747
Gauge Conversion	2	734	655	2,066
Doubling/ Multitracking	11	669	165	4,566
TOTAL	27	2,184	1,027	43,379

Recently completed projects:

Details of some of the recently completed projects falling in Northeast Frontier Railway are as under:

S.No.	Name of Project	Cost (₹ in Crore)
1	Araria-Galgalia (Thakurganj) New Line (111 km)	4,415
2	Bhairabi-Sairang New Line (51 km)	8,601
3	New Bongaigaon-Agthori via Rangiya Doubling (143 km)	2,048
4	Agartala-Akhaura New Line (5 km)	865
5	Digaru-Hojai Doubling (102 km)	1,873
6	Ambari Falakata-New Maynaguri Doubling (38 km)	843
7	New Mainaguri-Gumanihat Doubling (52 km)	1,167
8	Agartala–Sabroom New Line (112 km)	3,170
9	Haldibari International border New Line (3 km)	90
10	Lumding-Hojai Doubling (45 km)	410
11	Bogibeel Bridge with linked line (92 km)	5,820
12	New Coochbehar-Gumanihat Doubling (29 km)	330
13	New Coochbehar-Samuktala Road Doubling (29 km)	445
14	Katakhal-Bhairabi Gauge Conversion (84 km)	348
15	Kumarghat-Agartala Gauge Conversion (109 km)	1242
16	Lumding-Badarpur-Silchar & Badarpur-Kumarghat Gauge Conversion (412 km)	6,500
17	New Mal Jn-Changrabandha Gauge Conversion (62 km)	316
18	Rangiya-Murkongselek Gauge Conversion (510 km)	3,019

Ongoing projects

Some of the major projects falling in Northeast Frontier Railway which have been taken up are as under:

S.No.	Name of Project	Cost (₹ in Crore)
1	Jiribam-Imphal New Line (111 km)	21,886
2	Dimapur-Kohima New Line (82 km)	6,663
3	Sivok-Rangpo New Line (44 km)	11,775
4	Balurghat-Hilli New Line (30 km)	1,181
5	Murkongselek-Pasighat New Line (27 km)	1,249
6	Banarhat (India) to Samtse (Bhutan) New Line (20 km)	577
7	Kokrajhar (ndia) to Gelephu (Blhutan) New Line (69 km)	3,456
8	New Bongaigaon-Goalpara-Guwahati (Kamakhaya) Doubling (176 km)	4,984
9	Saraighat Bridge Doubling (7 km)	1,474
10	Lumding-Furkating Doubling (140 km)	2,124
11	Katihar-Kumedpur and Katihar-Mukuria Doubling (65 km)	943
12	Aluabari Road- Thakurganj Doubling (20 Km)	327
13	Aluabari Road-New Jalpaiguri 3rd & 4th Line (57 km)	1,630
14	Furkating-New Tinsukia Doubling (194 Km)	3,634

Further, during the last three years i.e. 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and the current financial year 2026-27, 33 surveys (21 New Line, and 12 Doubling) of total length 2,772 Km falling in Northeast Frontier Railway have been sanctioned.

Sanction of any railway project depends upon many parameters/factors which include the following: 

• Anticipated traffic projections and Remunerativeness of the proposed route 

• First and last mile connectivity provided by the project 

• Connection of missing links and providing additional route 

• Augmentation of congested/saturated lines 

• Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives, 

• Railway’s own operational requirements 

• Socio-economic considerations 

• Overall availability of funds

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:

• Land acquisition by State Government

• Forest clearance 

• Shifting of infringing utilities

• Statutory clearances from various authorities 

• Geological and topographical conditions of area

• Law and order situation in the area of project site

• Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.

All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the projects.

Various steps taken by the Government for effective and speedy implementation of rail projects include:

• Substantial increase in allocation of funds.

• Delegation of powers at field level.

• Close monitoring of progress of project at various levels.

• Regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects.

Station Redevelopment

Ministry of Railways has identified Katihar Junction station for redevelopment under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

At Katihar Junction station, located in Bihar, passenger amenities like high level platforms, waiting hall, platform shelters on all platforms, urinals & lavatories, seating arrangement, foot over bridge, lift, escalator, drinking water facilities, circulating area with lighting arrangement etc are available.

At Katihar Junction station, during recent years, the works of additional platform shelters on platform no. 2 & 3, toilets for Divyangjan and raising to high-level platform of Manihari Terminal have been completed.

Further, the work for redevelopment of Katihar Junction station has been sanctioned under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The master plan of Katihar Junction station redevelopment work envisages following works:

• Improvement of platform surface 

• Provision of platform shelters

• Improvement to station building

• Improvement to circulating area and parking

The works of platform shelter, improvement of platform surface and improvement of station building have been taken up at this station.

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme 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 stations of Indian Railways. The master planning, keeping in view the necessity of each station, includes:

• Improvement of access to station and circulating areas

• Integration of station with both sides of city

• Improvement of station building

• Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water booths 

• Provision of wider foot over bridge/subway to commensurate with passenger traffic

• Provision of lifts/escalators/ramps

• Improvement of platform surface/ provision of platform shelter

• Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’

• Parking development

• Amenities for Divyangjans

• Better passenger information systems

• Provision of air concourse, executive lounges, Multimodal integration, landscaping, etc.

The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment friendly solutions etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term.

So far, 1340 stations have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 98 stations including Katihar Junction station, are located in Bihar. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Bihar are as following:

State	No. of Stations	Name of Stations
Bihar	98	Anugraha Narayan Road, Ara, Arariya Court, Bakhtiyarpur, Banka, Banmankhi, Bapudham Motihari, Barahiya, Barauni, Barh, Barsoi Jn, Begusarai, Bettiah, Bhabua Road, Bhagalpur, Bhagwanpur, Bihar Sharif, Bihiya, Bikramganj, Buxar, Chakia, Chausa, Chhapra, Dalsingh Sarai, Darbhanga, Dauram Madhepura, Dehri On Sone, Dholi, Dighwara, Dumraon, Durgauti, Ekma, Fatuha, Gaya, Ghorasahan, Guraru, Hajipur Jn, Jamalpur, Jamui, Janakpur Road, Jaynagar, Jehanabad, Jhanjharpur, Kahalgaon, Karhagola Road, Katihar Jn., Khagaria Jn, Kishanganj, Kudra, Labha, Laheria Sarai, Lakhminia, Luckeesarai, Madhubani, Maheshkhunt, Mairwa, Mansi Jn, Mashrakh, Mokama, Motipur, Munger, Muzaffarpur, Nabinagar Road, Narkatiaganj, Naugachia, Nawadah, Paharpur, Patliputra, Patna, Piro, Pirpainti, Rafiganj, Raghunathpur, Rajendra Nagar, Rajgir, Ram Dayalu Nagar, Raxaul, Sabaur, Sagauli, Saharsa, Sahibpur Kamal, Sakri, Salauna, Salmari, Samastipur, Sasaram, Shahpur Patoree, Shivanarayanpur, Simri Bakhtiyarpur, Simultala, Sitamarhi, Siwan, Sonpur Jn., Sultanganj, Supaul, Taregna, Thakurganj, Thawe

Completed Stations of Bihar:

Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Bihar have been taken up at a good pace. Details of stations completed in Bihar are as below:

State	No. of stations	Name of stations
Bihar	8	Banmankhi, Dauram Madhepura, Kahalgaon, Pirpainti, Sabaur, Shivanarayanpur, Simultala, Thawe

The activities for development at other stations in Bihar have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:

Stations of Bihar under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme:

• Gaya station: The work of new second entry arrival building has been completed. The works of new second entry departure building, new arrival & departure building at main entry, new platform no. 8, new platform shelters, air concourse and improvement of circulating area have been taken up.

• Muzaffarpur station: The work of combined terminal building, 3 m wide skywalk (North side), booking counter and office buildings have been completed. The work of main station building of phase-I, elevated road, arrival terminal building, departure terminal building, multi-level car parking, 6m wide skywalk (South side), 18 m wide foot over bridge and sewage treatment plant have been taken up.

• Kishanganj station: The works of platform surfacing at platform no. 1 & 2, drinking water taps at platform no. 1 & 2, improvement of circulating area, parking at second entry, approach road and boundary wall have been completed. The works of platform shelter and 12 m foot over bridge have been taken up.

• Salmari station: The works of extension and raising of platform no. 1, improvement of station building and platform shelter at platform no. 1 have been completed. The work of 3 m wide foot over bridge, improvement of circulating area and platform shelter at platform no. 2 have been taken up. 

• Barsoi Junction station: The work of 12 m wide foot over bridge, improvement of circulating area, approach road, improvement of platform surface and new station building have been taken up. 

• Thakurganj station: The works of 12 m wide foot over bridge, improvement of platform surface at platform no. 2, platform shelters, toilet block and raising of platform no. 1 have been completed. The works of improvement of platform surface at platform no. 1, installation of Coach Indication Board and Train Indication Board have been taken up.

Further, development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken as per requirement, subject to inter-se priority and availability of funds. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc.

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(This statement was given by MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 05.08.2026)

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