BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced the proposed new railway line connecting Gopalpur with Sambalpur will pass through Phulbani town and Odisha will be included in the first phase roll out of Vande Metro.
Dedicating Nuagaon Road-Dasapalla railway section and Dasapalla station in Nayagarh district on Saturday, Vaishnaw said he had returned the detailed project report (DPR) prepared by Odisha Rail Infrastructure Development Limited (ORIDL) asking it to reconsider locals’ demand for inclusion of Phulbani town in the project.
ORIDL, a joint venture of the Odisha government and the Ministry of Railways, had prepared the final location survey and DPR for the new rail project. Though Phulbani was in the initial DPR, it was dropped in the revised one and the route was diverted from Chakapada.
“I have asked the company to include Phulbani in the DPR and send it again. The feasibility of connecting Kantilo and Khandapada with Khurda-Balangir rail line project will also be explored. The Centre wants to expedite railway connectivity to districts not connected by railway,” he said.Nuagaon Road-Daspalla line is part of the Khurda-Balangir railway project, which Vaishnaw described as historic and said its work was expedited under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Of the 301-km new rail line project, a significant 153 km, including 106-km stretch from Khurda Road to Dasapalla and 47-km from Balangir to Sonepur, has already been completed.The 15.5 km stretch from Nuagaon to Dasapalla has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 200 crore. The stretch has three major bridges and 57 minor ones apart from four road overbridges and 15 road underbridges. When fully commissioned, the Khurda-Balangir line would connect coastal Odisha with the western region of the state and be a catalyst for economic growth of the region.
“There should be no politics when it comes to development. Railway line of only 50 km was constructed per year during the UPA government. It increased to 450 km per year during the BJP-led NDA government. The allocation of funds has also shot up more than 12 times - from Rs 800 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 10,000 crore now,” Vaishnaw said.
Earlier on the day, the minister inspected the redevelopment work of Bhubaneswar railway station, which is being transformed into a world-class facility. “Several stations in the state have been taken up for redevelopment. While Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat Express trains have already been introduced in Odisha, it will get the service of Vande Metro train in the coming days,” he said.
Vaishnaw flagged off extension of Bhubaneswar-Nayagarh Town Express, Bhubaneswar-Nuagaon Road Passenger Special, Puri-Nuagaon Road Passenger Special and Bhadrak-Nayagarh Town MEMU up to Dasapalla. He later attended a programme of the postal department at Kantilo.