NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday approved two key railway projects worth Rs 6,405 crore for the doubling of tracks in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Jharkhand, Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The decisions were taken at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Vaishnaw, who also holds the Railway portfolio, the project involves the doubling of Koderma–Barkakana (133 km), passing through a major coal-producing area of Jharkhand.
It will serve as the shortest and most efficient rail link between Patna, the capital of Bihar and Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, he added.
Another proposal of doubling the track, which was approved, included Ballari–Chikjajur (185 km), traversing through the Ballari and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka and the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, the Minister said.
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, Vaishnaw said.
“The enhanced line capacity will improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways,” he said, adding that the multi-tracking proposal would also ease operations and reduce congestion.
The Minister informed that the projects are a result of the Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity, which has been made possible through integrated planning.
These are essential routes for the transportation of commodities, such as coal, iron ore, finished steel, cement, fertilisers, agricultural commodities and petroleum products. The capacity-augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of 49 million tonnes per annum, according to a government release.
Both of these projects will cover seven districts across Jharkhand, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and are expected to be completed within three years, Vaishnaw said, adding that they are also environment-friendly and hold importance in terms of economic activity.
The projects will reduce oil imports by 52 crore litres and lower the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by over 264 crore kg, which is equivalent to the plantation of 11 crore trees, the government said in the release.