By Arun Kumar Das
New Delhi, Aug 1 (BVI) A strategic line passing near the siliguri corridor or Chicken’s neck, another through one of the highest steel-producing areas and one line which is part of Delhi-Chennai High Density Network.
These projects were approved by the Union Cabinet as part of four rail network expansion schemes spanning 574 kilometres in 13 districts of six States.
The newly-approved projects are Itarsi-Nagpur fourth line, Aluabari Road-New Jalpaiguri third and fourth line, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Parbhani doubling line and Dangoaposi-Jaroli third and fourth line.
The total estimated cost of these four projects is Rs 11,168 crore.
The 297-km Itarsi-Nagpur line, which falls in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, is part of Delhi-Chennai High density network and it intersects with Mumbai-Howrah network at Nagpur.
Officials said the fourth line will decongest the network and enable faster movement of trains.
The construction of the line will be a complex one as it will have 37 stations, 36 major and 415 minor bridges, two overpasses, 74 underpasses, four tunnels and two Rail over bridges.
The total estimated cost of the project is Rs. 5,451 crore.
The second project 57-km Aluabari – New Jalpaiguri third and fourth line, which falls in Bihar’s Kishanganj and three districts of West Bengal, is of strategic importance as it passes near the siliguri corridor or Chicken’s neck- the only route to enter North-East from rest of the India.
It is near the international border with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The project will have 99 bridges, three overpasses and eight underpasses. Officials said that line expansion will facilitate 21.6 million ton additional cargo.
The 177-km Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Parbhani doubling project in Maharashtra will improve the connectivity for Marathwada region and provide an alternate route between Mumbai and Secunderabad.
It will also connect the Jalna dry port, goods shed at Dinagaon and Daulatabad and provide support to upcoming Aurangabad Industrial City.
Railway officials said that the line doubling will facilitate the movement of additional cargo of 14.3 million ton from the region. The project includes construction of 28 major and 161 minor bridges and 29 underpasses.
The 43-km Dangoaposi-Jaroli project passes through Odisha’s Kendujhar and Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, which is one of the highest steel production areas.
A senior official of the Ministry of Railways said that the line expansion will connect iron ores to steel production units and will play a crucial role in meeting the target of 300 million ton annual steel production. The total cost of the project is Rs 1752 crore. (BVI)
