India's new railway expansion to cover 1,247 Km with Rs 18,658 crore boost

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday approved four projects of the Ministry of Railways involving a total cost of about Rs 18,658 crore, a government press note said.

The four projects covering 15 districts in 3 states of Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 1,247 km, it added.

The four projects include the third and fourth lines between Sambalpur and Jarapda, and Jharsuguda and Sason; the fifth and sixth lines between Kharsia-Naya Raipur and Parmalkasa; and the doubling of line between Gondia and Balharshah.

"The enhanced line capacity will improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways," the press note said.

It added, "The projects are in line with 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."

According to the government, these projects are the result of the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity which was made possible through integrated planning to provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services.

Highlighting their benefits, the government said with these projects, 19 new stations will be constructed, enhancing connectivity to two aspirational districts such as Gadchiroli and Rajnandgaon besides enhancing connectivity to approximately 3,350 villages and about 47.25 lakh population.

"Kharsia–Naya Raipur–Parmalkasa will provide direct connectivity to new areas such as Baloda Bazar, this will create possibilities for setting up of new industrial units including cement plants in the region," the press note said.

It further said, "These are essential routes for the transportation of commodities such as agriculture products, fertiliser, coal, iron ore, steel, cement, limestone etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 88.77 MTPA (million tonnes per annum)."

Talking about its environmental benefits, the government said the Railways being an environment-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, it will help both in achieving climate goals and minimising logistics cost of the country, reducing oil import (95 crore litres) and lowering CO2 emissions (477 crore kg), which is equivalent to planting 19 crore trees.