The Union cabinet gave its nod on Wednesday for two key projects worth Rs 6,405 crore for doubling of railway tracks in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Jharkhand.
The railway project involves the doubling of Koderma–Barkakana (133 km), passing through a major coal producing area of Jharkhand. It serves as the shortest and more efficient rail link between Patna and Ranchi, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs said in a release.
Another doubling is stated for construction in Ballari–Chikjajur (185 km), traversing through the Ballari and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
The approved projects will enhance connectivity to approximately 1,408 villages, which consist of a population of about 28.19 lakh. They will increase the existing network of the Indian Railways by about 318 km.
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.
The projects are a result of the Prime Minister's Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity, which have been made possible through integrated planning. They are expected to provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services, it added.
These are essential routes for the transportation of commodities, such as coal, iron ore, finished steel, cement, fertilisers, agriculture commodities and petroleum products. The capacity-augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of 49 million tonnes per annum, per the release.
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