Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones and inaugurated several vital railway projects worth over Rs 2,750 crore at an event in the Odisha capital today.

Apart from this, he also flagged off new trains from Boudh and Purunakatak through video conferencing.

The Prime Minister laid foundation stone for 3rd & 4th rail line between Sarla – Sason (16 km), to be implemented with an investment of Rs 252 crore. The project aims at decongesting the busy Jharsuguda-Sambalpur rail section and foster industrial development in the region.

The Prime Minister inaugurated new railway line between Sonepur – Purunakatak (73 km), part of the Khurda Road – Balangir Rail Project (301 KM), built with an investment of Rs 1,376 crore. With this, the Boudh District Headquarters is connected to the national railway network for the first time, fulfilling a long-standing aspiration of the people.

Modi also inaugurated the freight train maintenance facility with routine overhauling of wagons at Sarla (Rs 165 crore), subway in Bamra–Dharuadihi section (Rs 10 crore), Link C–Dumetra section (5 km) of Bondamunda–Ranchi Doubling (Rs 98 crore), road over bridge (ROB) at Jaleswar (Rs 89 crore) and 4th rail line between Jharsuguda – Jamga (53 km), part of the 206 KM Jharsuguda–Bilaspur Project, on the occasion.

These projects significantly enhance operational capacity, logistics efficiency, and safety, while also facilitating smoother passenger and freight movement, said the Railways in a statement.

The Prime Minister flagged off Boudh – Bhubaneswar New – Boudh Weekly Express (18313/18314) and Sambalpur – Boudh – Sambalpur Weekly Express (18311/18312) at the event.