. Railways successfully met the heavy impact of 6th Pay Commission in full during the period. Total additional payout including arrears from 1st January 2006 has been more than Rs one lakh crore till now. Significantly, unlike other segments of the Government, Railways met the additional expenditure within its own means, from its own earnings. The huge requirement did cause some hardships, but the organisation successfully overcame them and emerged stronger.
Significantly, but for the additional financial burden caused by the Pay Commission, the resource position of Railways would have been correspondingly that much healthier; vi. Extension of rail connectivity to the northeastern states has been a focus area of our government to bring prosperity to these areas and also strengthen the...
more... national integration. I am happy to inform the august House that as a result of additional financial support provided to Railways at the instance of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, we are now on course to convert the strategically important 510 Km long Rangiya - Murkongselek Metre Gauge line into Broad Gauge within this financial year. vii. The Capital of Arunanchal Pradesh would soon be on rail map in this financial year, as Harmuti-Naharlagun newline is expected to be commissioned shortly. The state of Meghalaya is also all set to come on the Railway map in this financial year, as Dudhnoi – Mehendipathar newline is getting completed by March 2014; viii. Expansion of Railway Network: During the year we completed 1,532 km of New Line, Doubling and Gauge Conversion against a revised target of 1,525 km. Sections commissioned in 2013-14 include: New Lines