Vinod Bhat
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved 4 (Four) projects of Ministry of Railways with total cost of Rs. 11,169 crore (approx.). These projects include:
(1) Itarsi – Nagpur 4th Line
(2) Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) – Parbhani Doubling
(3) Aluabari Road- New Jalpaiguri 3rd and 4th Line
(4) Dangoaposi- Jaroli 3rd and 4th Line
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 Shri Narendra Modiji’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 their employment/ self-employment opportunities.
The projects are planned on PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity & logistic efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.
The 4 (four) projects covering 13 Districts across the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 574 Kms.
The proposed multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approx. 2,309 villages, which are having a population of about 43.60 lakh.
These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker, gypsum, fly ash, containers, agriculture commodities, and Petroleum products etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 95.91 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 (16 Crore Litres) and lower CO2 emissions (515 Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 20 Crore trees.
