The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved four railway line expansion projects totalling Rs. 9,450 crore. These projects aim to improve operational efficiency, alleviate congestion, promote comprehensive development, increase employment opportunities, provide improved rail connectivity to tourist destinations and transport essential commodities.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved four projects of the Ministry of Railways with a total cost of approximately Rs. 9,450 crore. These projects include: Kharagpur – Bhadrak (Ranital) Line, which spans 173 km in West Bengal and Odisha; Bhadrak – Haridaspur Line, covering 75 km in Odisha; Gummidipundi – Gudur Line, extending over 90 km in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; and Cuttack – Paradeep (Badabandha) Line, stretching 72 km in Odisha. The expanded lines will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 410 Kms.
These multi-tracking proposals aim to streamline operations and alleviate congestion, improving mobility and operational efficiency for Indian Railways. The projects are aligned with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Vision of a New India, aimed at making the region self-reliant by promoting comprehensive development and increasing employment/self-employment opportunities.
The 04 projects span across 08 districts in West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. The proposed multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to approximately 6,448 villages with a population of about 60 lakhs.
The capacity enhancement will improve rail connectivity to several prominent tourist destinations across the country, including Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhitarkanika National Park, Maa Bhadrakali temple, Maa Dhamarai temple, Panchalingeswar Temple, Talsari–Udaypur and Chandipur Beach, Pulicat Lake, Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary, Lord Veeraraghava Perumal Temple, Gada Kujanga Jagannath Temple, Sarala Temple, Dhabaleswar Temple, Lalitgiri (a Buddhist site), among others. These tourist destinations will benefit from improved connectivity and increased visitor traffic as a result of the expanded rail network.
The proposed projects are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, iron ore, cement, iron and steel, container, automobile, food grains, among others. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 76 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (~13 Crore Litres) and lower CO2 emissions (~65 Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 2.60 crore trees.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
