The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved four significant railway infrastructure projects under the Ministry of Railways, amounting to ₹12,328 crore.
These include a new rail line in Gujarat and the expansion of existing routes in Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, and Assam.
Among the sanctioned projects is a new railway line in Kutch, Gujarat, connecting Deshalpar – Hajipir – Luna and Vayor – Lakhpat.
This line, stretching over 145 route kilometres and 164 track kilometres, will provide much-needed rail connectivity to the Rann of Kutch region.
The government will invest ₹2,526 crore in the project and aims to complete it within three years.
It will facilitate the transport of essential commodities such as salt, cement, coal, clinker, and bentonite.
It will also boost cultural and religious tourism by connecting prominent sites such as the Harappan heritage site of Dholavira, Koteshwar temple, Narayan Sarovar, and the historic Lakhpat fort through 13 new stations.
Multi-Tracking Projects Across Telangana, Bihar and Assam
The other three projects involve multi-tracking of key routes to boost freight handling capacity and ease congestion. These include:
- Secunderabad (Sanathnagar) – Wadi Line: A 173 km long rail route passing through Telangana and Karnataka, approved at a cost of ₹5,012 crore, with an expected completion timeline of five years.
- Bhagalpur – Jamalpur 3rd Line: Spanning 53 km in Bihar, this line will be expanded at a cost of ₹1,156 crore and is targeted for completion in three years.
- Furkating – New Tinsukia Doubling: A 194 km railway line in Assam set for doubling, with ₹3,634 crore allocated and a four-year execution timeline.
These projects aim to increase the Indian Railways’ network by approximately 565 kilometres, covering 13 districts across five states.
They will also support the transport of high-demand goods such as coal, cement, fly ash, steel, fertilisers, containers, agricultural produce, petroleum products, and automobiles.
Collectively, these projects will handle an additional freight load of 68 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), and will significantly boost logistics and operational efficiency.
The Cabinet stated that these projects fall under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which focuses on integrated infrastructure development through multi-modal connectivity and stakeholder collaboration.
Officials said the increased line capacity will streamline supply chains, improve reliability, and strengthen India’s overall transportation network.
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