Surplus Railway Land Leased for Commercial Development While Retaining Ownership
New Delhi : The total land in possession of Indian Railways is about 4.90 lakh hectares as of 31 March 2024, out of which 8812 Ha land has been leased for various purposes. This includes railway land leased/licensed for passenger facilities, cargo related facilities, commercial development, etc.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply in Rajya Sabha yesterday.
According to the Minister Zone-wise details of total railway land, total leased land are as under :
(Figures in hectares)
| Zonal Railway | Total railway Land | Total railway land leased/licensed |
| Central | 31,476 | 168 |
| Eastern | 21,082 | 469 |
| East Central | 33,644 | 2,437 |
| East Coast | 23,010 | 273 |
| Northern | 46,447 | 474 |
| North Central | 21,149 | 220 |
| North Eastern | 25,899 | 326 |
| Northeast Frontier | 48,469 | 1,214 |
| North Western | 27,555 | 87 |
| Southern | 26,953 | 365 |
| South Central | 40,600 | 237 |
| South Eastern | 34,877 | 970 |
| South East Central | 23,085 | 368 |
| South Western | 19,893 | 197 |
| Western | 38,275 | 620 |
| West Central | 23,656 | 183 |
| Metro | 152 | 0.42 |
| Production Units | 3,989 | 204 |
| Total | 490,211 | 8,812.42 |
Railway Minister said that the land in possession of Indian Railways is utilized for providing fixed infrastructure such as tracks, stations, terminals, workshops, production units, etc. In addition, railway land is also leased/licensed to Government departments, Kendriya Vidyalaya, public service utility providers, private sectors for railway related activities like passenger facilities, cargo related facilities, etc. keeping ownership with Railways as per the extant policy.
He also said thta the surplus vacant railway land which is not required for operational purpose in near future is entrusted to Rail Land Development Authority for leasing the railway land for commercial development. The ownership of commercially developed railway land always remains with Railways.