OREANDA-NEWS. August 16, 2011. As on April 1, 2011, Railways have a huge throwforward of ongoing projects under new lines, gauge conversions and doublings across the country requiring about Rs., 1,25,000 crore for completion, reported the press-centre of Indian Railways.

Due to limited availability of resources, projects take long time in completion. The targets for the projects are generally fixed on yearly basis based on the availability of resources and progress and many of the projects get completed in phases.

The main reasons for delay have been paucity of funds, delay in land acquisition, court cases and forestry clearance, failure of contracts and contractors, adverse law and order conditions and non availability of material and other economical reasons affecting the progress. Ongoing projects undergo cost escalation on account of delays as above and change in the standard of construction & technology, scope of work, inflation etc. No fixed time frame for completion of all the projects is feasible in such a scenario.