Indian Railways has announced a series of infrastructure initiatives aimed at expanding rail links throughout Marathwada and surrounding districts of Maharashtra.
Current routes already join Pandharpur, Kurduwadi, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Shegaon to the national network via Daund, Ahilyanagar, Manmad and Jalgaon. In addition, several towns lie within short road distance of existing stations: Paranda is roughly 21 km from Kurduwadi station, Bhoom about 37 km from Barshi Town station, while Manjarsumbha and Gevrai are situated 20 km and 31 km away from Beed station respectively.
Among the projects that have received clearance or reached completion, the 236‑km doubling of the Daund–Manmad line, valued at ₹3,426 crore, has recently been commissioned, boosting capacity on this corridor.
The new 261‑km Ahilyanagar–Beed–Parli Vaijnath line, earmarked at ₹5,800 crore, has seen the 201‑km Ahilyanagar–Beed–Badwani segment go into operation. Of the total 371 hectares of land needed for the remaining stretch, 366 hectares have already been acquired. Infrastructure work is advancing, with 19 of the 20 major bridges and 11 of the 23 road‑over‑bridges now completed.
Final Location Surveys (FLS) have been sanctioned for four additional routes. The 162‑km Jalna–Khamgaon line and the 134‑km Pune–Ahilyanagar line have both cleared the survey stage and have detailed project reports (DPRs) prepared.
A 240‑km corridor linking Dharashiv, Beed and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has received approval for its FLS, with a DPR to follow; the proposed alignment will pass through Gevrai. Likewise, a 110‑km Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar–Ahilyanagar line has been cleared for survey, pending DPR preparation.
According to Union Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, the detailed project reports will be drafted after consultations with state authorities, after which the proposals must secure appraisal from bodies such as NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance. He noted that the sanctioning timeline for each scheme depends on the completion of these appraisal processes and the receipt of requisite approvals.
These measures are expected to enhance passenger and freight movement, linking key towns more directly and strengthening overall transportation connectivity across Marathwada and its neighboring regions.