The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved major railway projects in three states. The cost of this project is Rs 18,658 crore. The four projects across 15 districts in three states of Maharashtra, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh will expand the existing Railway network by approximately 1,247 kilometers mentioned Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during his media briefing on Friday.
These projects include the Sambalpur–Jarapda 3rd and 4th Lines, the Jharsuguda–Sason 3rd and 4th Lines, the Kharsia–Naya Raipur–Parmalkasa 5th and 6th Lines, and the Gondia–Balharshah doubling.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw holds union cabinet briefing.
— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2025
Union Cabinet approves 4 projects of Ministry of Railways with total cost of Rs. 18,658 cr. Projects covering 15 districts in 3 states Maharashtra, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh will increase existing network of Indian… pic.twitter.com/DPECbGn4o6
The enhanced line capacity will improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways. With these projects, 19 New Stations will be constructed, enhancing connectivity to Two Aspirational Districts (Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh).
The multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approximately 3350 villages and about 47.25 lakh people. Kharsia–Naya Raipur–Parmalkasa will provide direct connectivity to new areas such as Baloda Bazar, which will create possibilities for setting up new industrial units, including cement plants, in the region.
These are essential routes for the transportation of commodities such as agricultural products, fertilizer, coal, iron ore, steel, cement, limestone, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 88.77 MTPA (million tonnes per annum). The Railways, being an environment-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing the logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (95 Crore Litres) and lower CO2 emissions (477 Crore Kg), which is equivalent to the planting of 19 Crore trees.
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