NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved four multi-tracking railway projects with a total investment of Rs 9,450 crore, which will be completed by 2030-31.
The projects include the Kharagpur-Bhadrak (Ranital) 4th Line across a stretch of 173 km covering West Bengal and Odisha; the second project is a 4th line from Bhadrak to Haridaspur across 75 km in Odisha, while the third is the Gummidipundi-Gudur 3rd and 4th line extending across a distance of 90 km in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, a Cabinet communique said.
The fourth project is the Cuttack to Paradeep (Badabandha) 3rd and 4th lines to cover a 72 km route in Odisha.
The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion. The projects are in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of a New India, which will make people of the region "Atmanirbhar" by way of comprehensive development in the area, which will enhance employment opportunities, the statement said.
The projects are planned on the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with a focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity and logistics efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.
The four projects covering eight districts across West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 410 km. The proposed multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to approximately 6,448 villages with a population of about 60 lakh, the statement said.
The proposed capacity enhancement will improve rail connectivity to several prominent tourist destinations across the country, including the 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 and Lalitgiri, a Buddhist site.
The proposed projects are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, iron ore, cement, iron and steel, containers, automobiles, food grains, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 76 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways, being an environment-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimising logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import ( around 13 crore litres) and lower CO2 emissions (around 65 crore kg), which is equivalent to the plantation of 2.60 crore trees, the statement added.
--IANS
