The Union Cabinet Thursday approved four railway expansion projects including a multitracking project near the strategic Siliguri corridor, another in one of India’s highest steel production areas and one that will make up a part of the Delhi-Chennai high-density network.
These new projects, spanning a cumulative 574 km across 13 districts of six states, are estimated to cost Rs 11,168 crore.
They involve the construction of the third and fourth lines between Aluabari Road and New Jalpaiguri (near the so-called chicken’s neck), a fourth line between Itarsi and Nagpur which is part of the Delhi-Chennai network, and the third and fourth lines from Dangoaposi to Jaroli in an iron and steel belt. The fourth project is the doubling of the railway line between Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) and Parbhani.
The 297-km line between Itarsi (Madhya Pradesh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra) will intersect with the Mumbai-Howrah network at Nagpur. Officials said the fourth line will decongest the network and enable faster movement of trains. The construction will be complex as the line will have 37 stations, 36 major and 415 minor bridges, two overpasses, 74 underpasses, four tunnels and two rail overbridges. Its total estimated cost is Rs 5,451 crore.
The 57-km Aluabari-New Jalpaiguri third and fourth lines, which will pass through Bihar’s Kishanganj and three districts of West Bengal, are of strategic importance as they are near the only route to the North-East from the rest of India. It is near the international borders with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The project will have 99 bridges, three overpasses and eight underpasses. Officials said the line expansion will help in the movement of 21.6 million additional tons of cargo.
The 43-km Dangoaposi-Jaroli project will connect Odisha’s Kendujhar district with Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, which is one of India’s highest steel production areas. A senior official of the Ministry of Railways said that the line expansion will better connect iron ores to steel production units and play a crucial role in meeting the annual steel production target of 300 million tons. The project will cost around Rs 1,752 crore.
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The 177-km Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Parbhani doubling project in Maharashtra will improve connectivity in the Marathwada region and provide an alternative route between Mumbai and Secunderabad. It will also connect the Jalna dry port and goods sheds at Dinagaon and Daulatabad, besides supporting the upcoming Aurangabad Industrial City.
Railway officials said the line doubling will facilitate the movement of 14.3 million tons of additional cargo from the region. The project includes the construction of 28 major and 161 minor bridges, and 29 underpasses.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
