BHUBANESWAR: The 92.82 km long broad gauge single electrified railway line section between Budhapankh station in Angul district and Baghuapala station near Sukinda in Jajpur district has received authorisation for operation of goods traffic.
The senior administrative grade (SAG) committee along with chief project manager of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and other officers had recently inspected the newly constructed single line and submitted the inspection report on February 23.
Earlier, Commissioner Railway Safety (CRS) had inspected Budhapank and Baghuapal station yards and advised for modification of station yards which has now been complied with all safety angles to run goods trains.
Based on the compliance to SAG inspection, East Coast Railway (ECoR) general manager Manoj Sharma has sanctioned for opening of the new electrified line for goods traffic up to a maximum permissible speed of 65 kmph, subject to permanent and temporary speed restrictions.
Angul-Sukinda Railway Ltd (ASRL) was incorporated as an SPV by the ministry of railways through Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL) in 2009 for construction and maintenance of the broad gauge single line between Budhapank and Baghuapala.
ASRL managing director Dilip Kumar Samantray said the new rail-line provides a direct link between iron-ore rich areas of Joda and Barbil to steel and sponge iron industries in Angul region. It will also provide a shorter and congestion free alternative route between the coal mining belt of Talcher to the coal based thermal power plants in Kalinganagar, he added.