Cabinet Approves Rs 1,332-Crore Railway Line Doubling Project In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday issued its nod for three key projects, including a Rs 1,332-crore railway line doubling in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, a Rs 1,600-crore sub-scheme for modernisation of irrigation facilities, and the Rs 1,878-crore six-lane Zirakpur bypass.

The railway project involves the "doubling of Tirupati–Pakala–Katpadi single railway line section (104 km) in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with total cost of Rs 1332 crore", the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs said in a release.

The enhanced line capacity will improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways, it said, adding that the multi-tracking proposal will also ease operations and reduce congestion, "providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways".

The project, covering three districts across Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 113 km. It will enhance connectivity to approximately 400 villages, thereby positively impacting a population of about 14 lakh.

Some of the iconic places which the project would provide connectivity to includes Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Sri Kalahasti Shiva Temple, Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple, and Chandragiri Fort, the release added.

The Cabinet nod comes five days after it approved four other multi-tracking projects, which will cover 15 districts across three states — Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The projects, worth Rs 18,658 crore, will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 1,247 km.

The Cabinet on Wednesday also approved the Modernization of Command Area Development and Water Management, or M-CADWM, as a sub-scheme of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana for financial year 2025-26 with an initial total outlay of Rs 1,600 crore.

"The scheme aims for modernisation of the irrigation water supply network to supply of irrigation water from existing canals or other sources in a designated cluster," the Ministry of Jal Shakti said.

Under the scheme, a robust backend infrastructure will be made for micro-irrigation by farmers from established source to the farm gate up to one hectare with underground pressurised piped irrigation, it added.

The initial approval is for taking up pilot projects across various agroclimatic zones in the country, the ministry said. Based on the learning’s in design and structuring of these projects, the "National Plan for Command Area Development and Water Management" will be launched starting from April 2026 for the 16th Finance Commission period, it added.

The Cabinet approved the construction of the six-lane Zirakpur bypass, which will start from the "junction with NH-7 (Chandigarh-Bathinda) in Zirakpur and follows the Punjab Government Master Plan in Punjab and terminates at the junction with NH-5 (Zirakpur-Parwanoo) in Panchkula of Haryana".

The road project, to be executed at a cost of Rs 1,878.31 crore, will cover a total length of 19.2 km in Punjab and Haryana.

"The primary purpose of the project is to ease up congestion in Zirakpur, Panchkula and surrounding areas by diverting traffic from Patiala, Delhi, Mohali Aerocity and providing direct connectivity to Himachal Pradesh," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.