BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has received an allocation of Rs 10,928 crore in the Railway Budget for 2026-27, Rs 329 crore more than last year. The budgetary provision for railways development in the state in 2025-26 was Rs 10,599 crore.
Addressing mediapersons, Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the allocation for Odisha this year is nearly 13 times higher than the average outlay of Rs 838 crore during the 2009-14 period.
Vaishnaw said the East-West Freight Corridor, announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the budget on Sunday, will pass through Odisha and extend to Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. This dedicated freight corridor will cover major parts of Odisha and play a major role in the industrial development of the state, he asserted.
The minister said railway works worth Rs 90,659 crore are currently under progress across the districts, covering new track creation, station redevelopment and major safety upgrades which will comprehensively transform rail infrastructure in the state.
“The double-engine government has set a target to develop railway infrastructure worth Rs 1 lakh crore over five-year period from 2024-25 to 2028-29. Odisha has also achieved 100 per cent railway electrification, with 1,559 km electrified during the same period,” he said.
Vaishnaw highlighted rapid network expansion, noting that around 2,200 km of new railway tracks have been constructed in Odisha since 2014, which is more than the entire rail network of Malaysia.
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He said network expansion has got a new impetus after BJP came to power in the state and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is extending full cooperation for timely execution of projects.
Under the Amrit Station scheme, Vaishnaw said, 59 stations in Odisha have been identified for complete redevelopment at a total cost of Rs 2,439 crore. Works have already been completed at six stations including Cuttack (second entry), Baripada, Barpali, Bimlagarh, Parlakhemundi and Talcher which have significantly improved passenger amenities and experience.
Connectivity has also improved with the operation of six pairs each of Vande Bharat Express and Amrit Bharat Express trains in the state. In the area of safety, 632 flyovers and underpasses have been constructed, while the advanced train protection system ‘Kavach’ is being implemented extensively, with works and tenders in progress over 772 route kilometres against a total sanctioned length of 2,922 route kilometres.
Responding to a query on development of elephant corridor, Vaishnaw said that Indian Railways is scaling up the deployment of AI-based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), which use optical fibre cable (OFC) technology, to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks. This technology will be launched in Odisha within next six months.