The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, approved four multi-tracking projects on Indian Railways (IR) with a total cost of about ₹ 9,450 crore and targeted for completion by 2030-31.
These projects on the east coast of India are a part of the Howrah–Chennai High Density Network (HDN) route. They will increase the existing IR network by 410 km and connect 6,448 villages, having about 60 lakh people.
The projects include:
- Kharagpur – Bhadrak (Ranital) 4th Line – 173 km
- Bhadrak – Haridaspur 4th Line – 75 km
- Gummidipundi – Gudur 3rd and 4th Line – 90 km
- Cuttack – Paradeep (Badabandha) 3rd and 4th Line – 72 km
These projects will an additional freight traffic of 76 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) minimize logistics cost and reduce oil import of ~13 crore litres.
Kharagpur – Bhadrak (Ranital) 4th line
The 173-km section is partly triple line. In some places third and fourth line works are on. Budget outlay is ₹ 3,352 Cr through Capital (Gross Budgetary Support). There will be two mega bridges (Subarnarekha River – 564 m), 41 major and 169 minor bridges
Benefits
• Links steel hubs at Jakhapura, Tatanagar and Durgapur with Paradip and Dhamra Ports.
• Will improve container traffic movement from Inland Container Depot (ICD) Balasore to Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port and Paradip Port.
• Will serve major cement units (Sankrail, Kolaghat etc.) and SEZs (Vidyasagar, Adityapur etc.)
• Will provide additional freight traffic of 13 MTPA
• Employment generation: 59 lakh human-days and logistics cost saving of Rs. 466 cr every year
• Will improve accessibility to Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhitarkanika National Park and Chandipur Beach.
Bhadrak – Haridaspur 4th Line – 75 km
This line is partly tripled with third line in progress on the remaining stretch. The existing line is nearing saturation at 91 per cent. Budget outlay is ₹1,583 crore. There are two mega bridges on Baitarani (686 m) and Brahmani (1,325 m) rivers plus 18 major and 106 minor bridges, and two ROB/RUBs.
Benefits
- Will connect Tata Nagar/Durgapur and Jakhapura steel hubs with Dhamra, Paradip and the upcoming Subarnarekha Port
- Will facilitate Rail–Sea–Rail coal movement from Mahanadi Coalfields (Talcher) via Dhamra and Paradip Ports to power plants in Southern India.
- Will provide additional freight traffic of 29 MTPA
- Will deliver logistics cost savings of ₹433 crore every year and generate employment of 26 lakh human-days
- Will improve accessibility to Hadagarh Wildlife Sanctuary
Gummidipundi – Gudur 3rd and 4th Line – 90 km
The section falls under the Vizag–Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) and the planned East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC). Line capacity utilization is expected to reach 131 per cent. Budget outlay is ₹2,229 crore. There is one mega bridge (Swarnamukhi – 360 m), 21 major and 127 minor bridges, and 34 ROB/RUBs.
Benefits
- Will connect Chennai, Kamarajar (Ennore) and Krishnapatnam ports
- Will improve access to Pulicat Lake, Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary and Lord Veeraraghava Perumal Temple
- Will add freight traffic of 21.24 MTPA
- Will save ₹382.15 crore in logistics costs every year and generate 61 lakh human-days of employment.
Cuttack – Paradeep (Badabandha) 3rd and 4th Line – 72 km
The project connects Paradip port with Howrah– Chennai route at Cuttack. The existing section is saturated at up to 101 per cent utilisation, projected to rise further to 177 per cent.
Quadrupling will create a through 4-line route between Jharsuguda and Paradeep Port. Project outlay is ₹2,286 crore and includes one viaduct, eight major bridges, 219 minor bridges and 12 ROB/RUBs
Benefits
- Important route for import of iron ore for steel plants in Odisha and Chhattisgarh and coal for RSR (Rail-Sea-Rail) movement.
- Will moving domestic and EXIM cargo between Paradip Port, Paradeep Phosphate Ltd, IFFCO, Paradeep refinery and the hinterland
- Will provide additional freight traffic of 12 MTPA
- Will deliver logistics cost savings of ₹172.97 crore annually and generate employment of 49 lakh human-days
