Editor’s Note
This article has been updated to reflect the Railway Board’s decision to transfer oversight of the Banswara-Mandsaur rail project from Western Railway, Mumbai, to North Western Railway, Jaipur.
A major update has come regarding the Banswara-Mandsaur rail project spanning Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The Railway Board has now assigned the new responsibility to the North Western Railway, Jaipur, instead of the Western Railway, Mumbai.
The Mandsaur-Pratapgarh-Banswara rail project will now be operated through the North Western Railway, Jaipur, instead of the Western Railway, Mumbai. The preliminary location survey for this project, approved in 2023, was conducted from Mumbai, but the final location survey could not commence. This is the final and crucial process before laying the track.
The Railway Board has now approved this proposal, and the project has been handed over to the North Western Railway, Jaipur. Following this, it is anticipated that the survey and subsequent processes will accelerate.
The central government announced a survey for a new rail line from Mandsaur to Banswara via Pratapgarh in 2023. Under this announcement, the new 120 km long rail line will run from Banswara to Mandsaur and will directly connect tribal areas like Pratapgarh and Ghatol to the rail network.
This new rail line will establish direct connectivity between Banswara and Mandsaur, thereby directly connecting the tribal areas of the region to the rail network. Additionally, Banswara will get better rail connectivity with Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra from Rajasthan, which will accelerate regional development.
