The projects will expand railway track capacity across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Once completed, around 656 kilometres of new railway lines will be added to the network. The projects are targeted for completion by 2029-30.
The three railway projects approved by the Cabinet include the fourth railway line between Kharagpur and Jharsuguda (Bagdehi), the fourth railway line between Katni and Pendra Road, and the third railway line between Bilaspur (Uslapur) and Pendra Road.
The additional lines are expected to provide greater capacity for train operations on busy routes. This will make train movement easier and help reduce pressure on the existing railway network.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said work is underway to increase the capacity of seven important high-density corridors covering around 11,000 kilometres. These include major routes such as Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Chennai, Chennai-Kolkata and Kolkata-Mumbai, which handle a large volume of rail traffic across the country.
According to the Railway Minister, around 40 per cent of these important corridors already have four-line sections. Work covering around 5,000 kilometres is either underway or has already been approved, while work covering another around 4,000 kilometres is in the process of receiving final approval.
The government has also approved five major railway projects for southern India. Around 540 kilometres of additional railway tracks will be laid across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.
The approved projects include the Arakkonam-Renigunta third and fourth lines covering 77 kilometres, the Whitefield-Bengaluru/Bangarpet third and fourth lines covering 47 kilometres, the Hosur-Omalur rail line doubling covering 147 kilometres, the Salem-Karur-Dindigul rail line doubling covering 159 kilometres, and the Secunderabad (Ghatkesar)-Kazipet multi-tracking project covering 110 kilometres.
These projects are also targeted for completion by 2029-30 and will benefit 17 districts across the four states.
According to the government, the railway projects will benefit around 4,790 villages across about 14 districts, where nearly 56 lakh people live. The new railway lines are expected to make the movement of passengers, freight and essential goods easier while improving connectivity across the affected areas.
One of the key challenges before the Railways is the growing pressure on busy routes, where train traffic is already high. The addition of new lines will provide extra capacity, reduce congestion-like conditions on railway routes, improve train movement and make train operations more reliable.
The additional capacity will also increase the possibility of operating more trains on these routes in the future.
The expansion of the railway network is also expected to improve connectivity to several tourism and religious destinations. These include the Taratarini Temple, Shri Kshetra Jagannath Temple near Jharsuguda, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Amarkantak, Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, Ratanpur Mahamaya Temple and the archaeological sites of Malhar.
Improved rail connectivity could increase tourist movement to these areas, benefiting local shopkeepers, businesses and employment opportunities.
Freight movement is another major focus of the projects. The railway routes carry large quantities of industrial commodities, including coal, cement, iron and steel.
After completion of the projects, railway freight capacity is estimated to increase by around 2.7 crore tonnes per year. This will help transport goods faster to factories and industrial areas while strengthening the country's logistics system.
The projects are being developed under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which aims to improve the integration of different modes of transportation and make the movement of goods faster and cheaper.
The government believes that shifting more freight from roads to rail can reduce transportation costs and ease the pressure created by trucks on roads.
The projects are also expected to deliver environmental benefits. According to the government, they could save around 12 crore litres of oil imports by increasing the movement of freight through rail.
The projects are also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 62 crore kilograms. According to the government, this environmental benefit is considered equivalent to planting approximately 2.48 crore trees.
Overall, the projects are aimed not only at laying new railway lines but also at increasing the capacity of some of the country's busiest rail routes. The expansion is expected to improve passenger services while making freight movement faster. According to the Railway Ministry, modern technology and automatic signalling systems will be used to complete the projects on schedule.
The construction of additional railway lines will increase the capacity to operate more trains in the future, making the projects a significant step towards expanding the capacity and modernising India's railway network.
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