Central Railway Hosts Deputy Chief Engineers’ Conference, Sets 363 km Target For 2025–26

Central Railway successfully organised the Deputy Chief Engineers’(Construction) Conference on August 29th & 30th, 2025, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai.

Dharam Veer Meena, General Manager, Central Railway presided over the Conference. In his address, the General Manager lauded the remarkable performance of the Construction organisation for last three years, with 248 km, 348 km & 315 km commissioned respectively, and congratulated the teams for their sustained progress. He noted with pride that Central Railway Construction was ranked No. 1 among all Zonal Railways in 2023-24 and No. 2 in 2024-25, reflecting the commitment and efficiency of the organisation. He further directed that the 2025–26 target of 363 km be achieved with special emphasis on timely completion of doubling and multi-tracking works.

The Conference was inaugurated by Shri Avanish Kumar Pandey, Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), and attended by Principal Heads of Departments, Chief Engineer, Deputy Chief Engineers, Deputy Chief Electrical Engineers, Deputy Chief Signal & Telecom Engineers, and Deputy Financial Advisors, along with officers from Headquarters and field units.

Presentations were made and Discussions were held on critical issues, including:

• Land acquisition challenges and ways to accelerate processing.

• Alignment corrections during execution.

• Engineering Procurement & Construction (EPC) contracts and field-level challenges.

• Measures to improve Engineering Scale Plan (ESP) and minimize alterations and delays.

• Issues flagged by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) during inspections.

• Extra High Voltage (EHV) crossing issues and their resolution.

• Signal & Telecom integration issues intersecting with engineering works.

The conference concluded on 30th August with a reaffirmed commitment by all Officers to achieve the 2025–26 targets within schedule, through enhanced planning, inter-departmental coordination, and adoption of innovative practices.

Central Railway Construction Organisation-Progress Chart

The Central Railway Construction Organisation has successfully commissioned, more than 900 km of new rail sections over the last three years, strengthening both passenger and freight corridors. 

For the current year 2025–26, a target of 363 km of track opening has been set.

Major Achievements include:

• Doubling of Pune–Miraj Section (260 km commissioned) – improving connectivity towards Karnataka.

• Doubling of Daund–Manmad Section (220 km completed) – easing congestion on a crucial north–south corridor.

• 3rd Line between Manmad and Jalgaon  (149 km commissioned) – enhancing capacity on the Delhi–Mumbai route.

• Ahmednagar–Beed–Parli New Line (198 km completed) – providing rail access to Marathwada.

• Belapur–Uran New Suburban Line – a landmark suburban project, now providing direct connectivity from Navi Mumbai to Uran and catering to both daily commuters and port-related traffic.

Ongoing Projects

• Work is being carried out on 19 projects (2,059 km - 1,218 km commissioned, 841 km balance) including:

• Wardha–Balharshah 3rd Line (132 km) – critical for coal and freight movement.

• Sewagram–Nagpur 3rd and Wardha–Nagpur 4th Lines (156 km) – easing congestion around Nagpur.

• Itarsi–Nagpur 3rd Line (279 km) – capacity augmentation on a key trunk route.

• Suburban expansion: Kalyan–Kasara 3rd Line, Kalyan–Asangaon 4th Line, Nilje–Kopar Chord – to decongest Mumbai suburban network.

Newly Sanctioned Projects

New Projects of National importance have been announced as follows:

• (13 projects – 1,421 km, sanctioned in 2024–25 & 2025–26)

• Indore–Manmad New Line Project (309 km), 

• Ajanta Caves ConnectivityProject (174 km), 

• Bhusawal–Khandwa 3rd & 4th Lines Project, 

• Jalgaon–Manmad 4th Line Project, 

• Rahuri–Shani Shingnapur New Line Project

• Various capacity enhancement works around Mumbai and Nagpur.

The Central Railway Construction Organisation continues to play a pivotal role in strengthening India’s rail infrastructure enhancing rail connectivity and contributing to the Nation’s growth.