VIJAYAWADA: South Central Railway (SCR) General Manager Arun Kumar Jain announced that a detailed project report (DPR) for a new 56 km railway line between Errupalem and Namburu via Amaravati, with an estimated cost of Rs 2,300 crore, has been submitted to the Railway Board for approval.
This update was shared during a meeting with Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday to discuss ongoing railway projects and other developmental activities in the State.
Seventeen MPs of the State, representing parties like TDP, JSP, BJP, and YSRC, along with two Union Ministers of State, attended the meeting. They submitted requests for development works in their constituencies, including proposals for road over bridges, road under bridges, new railway lines, additional train services, and stoppages for Vande Bharat trains. Arun Kumar also provided an overview of SCR’s performance, covering passenger services, freight loading, station amenities, digital initiatives, green projects, and the introduction of new trains. He mentioned that 56 railway stations in the State under SCR have been identified for redevelopment as ‘Amrit stations,’ at a cost of Rs 2,593 crore. The Tirupati and Nellore stations are undergoing significant upgrades, costing Rs 414 crore.
The development of Vijayawada station has been proposed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, entrusted to the Rail Land Development Authority. In the last fiscal year, 450 km of new tracks were laid in AP, and 97% of the State’s railway network has been electrified, with the remaining work progressing swiftly.
Jain highlighted the ongoing rail infrastructure projects in the state, which total Rs 55,000 crore. AP has been allocated a budget of Rs 9,151 crore for the 2024-25 FY.