Cabinet clears Rs 13,041 crore rail & road projects; Howrah-Chennai line to be quadrupled

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved four railway projects and a highway project worth a total Rs 13,041 crore, including three railway projects aimed at quadrupling sections of the Howrah-Chennai main railway line to increase passenger and freight capacity on the key east coast corridor.

The first three railway projects approved by the Cabinet are part of the Howrah-Chennai High Density Network route and involve adding the third and fourth lines on key sections, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a Cabinet briefing.

“From Howrah to Chennai, we will ultimately have a complete quadrupled, four-line route. This will allow us to operate many more trains. It will also facilitate the movement of cargo and make maintenance easier,” Vaishnaw said.


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The three projects on the Howrah-Chennai route are the fourth line between Kharagpur and Bhadrak (Ranital), the fourth line between Bhadrak and Haridaspur, and the third and fourth lines between Gummidipundi and Gudur.

Howrah-Chennai railway line to get four-line corridor

The Howrah-Chennai route is one of the country's key railway corridors, carrying long-distance passenger and freight traffic between eastern and southern India.

Vaishnaw said the railway network has seven key lines, including the Delhi-Howrah, Howrah-Chennai and Chennai-Mumbai routes, along with diagonal routes connecting Delhi with Chennai and Mumbai with Howrah, and the northeastern line towards Guwahati.

The three projects approved on the Howrah-Chennai route will ultimately help create a continuous four-line corridor between Howrah and Chennai, allowing the railways to operate more trains while improving freight movement and easing maintenance.

The four railway projects, including the Cuttack-Paradeep project, have a combined outlay of Rs 9,450 crore.

Kharagpur-Bhadrak fourth line gets Rs 3,352 crore

The Cabinet approved a fourth line on the 173-km Kharagpur-Bhadrak (Ranital) section at a cost of Rs 3,352 crore. The project is expected to be completed in four years.

The section runs through Paschim Medinipur in West Bengal and Balasore and Bhadrak in Odisha. It forms part of the Howrah-Chennai High Density Network and runs along the coast through Balasore and Rupsa towards Bhadrak.

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The route carries traffic from coal- and iron-ore-producing areas, as well as passenger services and freight movement between Howrah and Chennai.

The project will include two mega bridges, including a 564-metre bridge over the Subarnarekha river, besides 41 major and 169 minor bridges.

The additional line will strengthen freight connectivity between steel hubs such as Jakhapura, Tatanagar and Durgapur and the Paradip and Dhamra ports. It is also expected to improve container traffic from the Inland Container Depot at Balasore to Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port and Paradip Port.

The project will add about 13 million tonnes of annual freight capacity and save around Rs 466 crore in logistics costs every year. It is expected to generate 59 lakh human-days of employment and save 20.86 crore kg of carbon dioxide annually.

The project will also improve access to tourist and religious destinations including Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhitarkanika National Park and Chandipur Beach.

Bhadrak-Haridaspur fourth line to cost Rs 1,583 crore

The Cabinet also approved a fourth line on the 75-km Bhadrak-Haridaspur section at an outlay of Rs 1,583 crore. The project has a four-year completion period and covers Bhadrak and Jajpur districts of Odisha.

The section is part of the Howrah-Chennai High Density Network and is already partly three-lined, with work on the third line progressing on the remaining stretch. The existing line is operating at around 91% utilisation and is expected to face further pressure from rising demand linked to ports and steel plants.

The project will include two mega bridges over the Baitarani and Brahmani rivers, measuring 686 metres and 1,325 metres respectively, along with 18 major and 106 minor bridges and two road-over-road or road-under-road structures.

The fourth line will strengthen the link between steel hubs in Tatanagar, Jakhapura and Kerejang and the east coast ports of Dhamra and Paradip, as well as the upcoming Subarnarekha Port.

It will also facilitate rail-sea-rail movement of coal from Mahanadi Coalfields in Talcher through Dhamra and Paradip ports to power plants in southern India.

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The project is expected to add 29 million tonnes of annual freight capacity, save Rs 433 crore in logistics costs every year and generate 26 lakh human-days of employment. It will also save 19.39 crore kg of carbon dioxide annually.

Gummidipundi-Gudur gets third and fourth lines

The Cabinet approved construction of the third and fourth lines on the 90-km Gummidipundi-Gudur section at a cost of Rs 2,229 crore. The project will be completed in four years.

The section is an existing double-line route forming part of both the Delhi-Chennai and Howrah-Chennai High Density Networks. It also falls under the Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor and forms part of the planned East Coast Economic Corridor.

Line capacity utilisation on the section is expected to reach 131%, making the additional lines important for easing congestion and supporting future passenger and freight demand.

The project covers Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu and Tirupati district in Andhra Pradesh. It includes a 360-metre mega bridge over the Swarnamukhi river, 21 major and 127 minor bridges, and 34 road-over-road or road-under-road structures.

Gudur is a key interchange connecting Chennai, Vijayawada and Renigunta, while Gummidipundi is an important suburban node for commuters travelling to and from Chennai.

The project will improve connectivity to Chennai, Kamarajar (Ennore) and Krishnapatnam ports and add 21.24 million tonnes of annual freight capacity. It is expected to save Rs 382.15 crore in logistics costs every year, generate 61 lakh human-days of employment and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 17.10 crore kg annually.

Cuttack-Paradeep third, fourth lines approved

The fourth railway project involves construction of the third and fourth lines on the 72-km Cuttack-Paradeep (Badabandha) section at a cost of Rs 2,286 crore. The project has a four-year completion period and covers Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur districts in Odisha.

Unlike the first three railway projects, this section is not part of the Howrah-Chennai quadrupling programme. It connects Paradip Port with the Howrah-Chennai High Density Network at Cuttack and forms part of the Jharsuguda-Cuttack-Paradeep Highly Utilised Network.

The existing section is operating at up to 101% capacity utilisation, which is projected to rise to 177% with the expansion of ports and industries in the region.

The project will include one viaduct, eight major bridges, 219 minor bridges and 12 road-over-road or road-under-road structures.

The additional lines will strengthen connectivity between Paradip Port and hinterland industrial and mining centres including Kalinganagar, Keonjhar and Talcher. The route is important for transporting raw materials for steel plants in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, as well as coal for rail-sea-rail movement.

It will also support domestic and export-import cargo movement linked to Paradip Port, Paradip Phosphate, IFFCO, the Paradip refinery and industrial and mining units in the hinterland.

The project is expected to add 12 million tonnes of annual freight capacity, save Rs 172.97 crore in logistics costs every year and generate 49 lakh human-days of employment. It will also save 7.74 crore kg of carbon dioxide annually.

Railway projects to add 13 million tonnes of freight capacity

The four railway projects together are aimed at easing congestion on heavily utilised routes, improving passenger and freight movement and supporting industrial and port connectivity.

The projects are expected to generate substantial additional freight capacity, reduce logistics costs and create employment during construction. They will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions through greater rail-based movement of freight.

The Kharagpur-Bhadrak project, in particular, will strengthen the east coast freight corridor connecting mineral and steel-producing regions with major ports, while the Gummidipundi-Gudur project will improve access to ports and industrial centres around Chennai.

Cabinet approves Rs 3,591 crore Bihar highway project

Separately, the Cabinet approved a Rs 3,591-crore project to develop an 83-km four-lane brownfield highway corridor from Muzaffarpur through Sitamarhi to Sonbarsa, up to the Nepal border, under the hybrid annuity model.

The project will cover Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi districts in Bihar and has a construction period of 30 months.

The corridor will include seven major bridges, three road-over-bridges, six vehicular underpasses and a 340-metre major bridge over the Bagmati river.

The highway is expected to reduce travel time between Muzaffarpur and Sonbarsa from about two hours to one hour by improving road capacity and easing congestion. It will also reduce vehicle operating costs and improve the movement of people and goods towards the Nepal border.

The project is expected to support economic activity and tourism and improve access to destinations such as Baba Garibnath Temple in Muzaffarpur and Punaura Dham (Mata Janki Temple) in Sitamarhi.

It will also connect five PM Gati Shakti economic nodes, four social nodes and two logistics nodes.

Five projects worth Rs 13,041 crore approved

“The first four projects are railway projects, while the fifth is a highway project,” Vaishnaw said.

In total, the Cabinet approved projects worth Rs 13,041 crore on Wednesday under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.