Bhubaneswar: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved four projects of Ministry of Railways with total cost of Rs 11,169 crore. 

The four multitracking projects covering 13 districts across the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 574 Kms.

The proposed multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approx. 2,309 villages, which are having a population of about 43.60 lakh.

The projects are: Itarsi – Nagpur 4th Line, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) - Parbhani Doubling, Aluabari Road- New Jalpaiguri 3rd and 4th Line, and Dangoaposi (Jharkhand)- Jaroli (Odisha) 3rd and 4th Line.

The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion, said the Railways in a statement.

The projects are in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’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, it added.

The projects are planned on PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity & logistic efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.

These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker, gypsum, fly ash, containers, agriculture commodities, and Petroleum products etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 95.91 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum).

The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (16 Crore Litres) and lower CO2 emissions (515 Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 20 Crore trees.