Cabinet nod for Indian Railways' line doubling projects: Freight traffic set to receive additional boost of 49 million tonnes annually
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved two line doubling projects of the Indian Railways, namely, the 133-km Koderma-Barkakana Doubling and the 185-km Ballari-Chikjajur Doubling, which cover a total of seven districts in Jharkhand, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs 6,405 crore.
The Koderma-Barkakana line passes through a major coal producing area of Jharkhand. Along with this, it serves as the shortest rail link between Patna and Ranchi. The cost of doubling of the line is Rs 2,063 crore.
According to the Ministry of Railways, line doubling will facilitate an additional cargo of 30.4 million tonnes (mt). It will connect four districts of Jharkhand, namely, Koderma, Chatra, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh.
The project will be challenging from an engineering point of view since it will involve the construction of 17 major bridges, 180 minor bridges, 42 road over bridges (ROBs) and 13 road under bridges (RUBs). The project will provide connectivity to over 900 villages, the Indian Railways said.
The second project Ballari-Chikjajur line crosses Ballari and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The total cost of the project is Rs 3,342 crore.
According to the Indian Railways, the doubling of the rail line will facilitate the movement of additional cargo of 18.9 mt. It will cater to transport of iron ore, coking coal, finished steel, fertilisers, foodgrains, and petroleum products, among other items.
The 185-km project will involve the construction of 19 stations, 29 major bridges, 230 minor bridges, 21 ROBs and 85 RUBs. The line will connect over 400 villages on the stretch.
These two projects together will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 318 km and additional freight traffic of 49 mt per annum.
Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
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