Union Cabinet approves 4 railway projects worth Rs 12,328 crore; Gujarat to get a new rail route

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved four projects of the Ministry of Railways with a total cost of around Rs. 12,328 crore. This includes a new rail line in Kutch, Gujarat and expansion of three other key railway routes across Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar and Assam.

The approved new railway line in Kutch will connect Deshalpar – Hajipir – Luna and Vayor – Lakhpat route. Providing connectivity to the 'Rann of Kutch', it will add 145 route km & 164 track km to the existing railway network in Gujarat.

The project is approved with an estimated cost of Rs 2526 crore. The project is said to be completed within three years. This rail line will help in transportation of salt, cement, coal, clinker & bentonite. This railway line will also connect Harappan site Dholavira, Koteshwar temple, Narayan Sarovar and Lakhpat fort with a total of 13 new railway stations.


The multi-tracking rail projects include 173 km long Secunderabad (Sanathnagar) – Wadi railway route, set for completion in five years with Rs 5,012 crores of investment.

Another project includes 53 km long Bhagalpur – Jamalpur 3rd line in Bihar, whose multi-tracking is set to complete in three years with an investment of around Rs 1,156 crore.

The third rail project is doubling of 194 km long Furkating – New Tinsukia rail route, which is set to complete in four years, having a cost of Rs 3,634 crore.

These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker, flyash, steel, containers, fertilizers, agriculture commodities and Petroleum products etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 68 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum).

These four projects covering 13 districts across the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar and Assam will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 565 Kms.

The projects are planned on PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity &logistic efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations, the government said in a release.

The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, optimize supply chains, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways, it added.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) mentioned that the proposed projects aim to enhance logistical efficiency by augmenting line capacity along critical routes for transportation of coal, containers, cement, agricultural commodities, Automobile, POL, Iron & Steel and other goods.