The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved three multi-tracking projects for increasing capacity of high density routes on Indian Railways (IR).
Sanctioned at a total cost of approximately Rs 23437 crore, these projects include:
a) Nagda – Mathura 3rd and 4th Line ( New Delhi-Mumbai route)
b) Guntakal – Wadi 3rd and 4th Line (Mumbai-Chennai /Bengaluru route)
c) Burhwal – Sitapur 3rd and 4th Line ( New Delhi-Guwahati route)
Once implemented, these three projects will increase the existing IR network by about 901 km. The details of these projects are as follows:
a) Nagda – Mathura 3 and 4 Line
Route length: 568 km
Estimated cost: Rs16,403 crore
Project duration: 5 years
Bridges: 11 mega bridges, 131 major bridges and 1118 minor bridges
Tunnels: 2
Road-over-bridge (ROB) : 9
Road-under-bridge (RUB) / Limited Height Subway (LHS): 360
Rail-over-rail bridge (RoR) : 8
Additional Freight: 27 mn tonnes per annum (MTPA)
Logistic cost saving: Rs 3021 crore per annum
Employment generation: 386 lakh human days
Benefits:
This project will facilitate efficient cargo movement from ports on the western coast namely Kandla, Mundra, Pipavav, Hazira, Dahej, JNPA and the upcoming Vadhavan port.
It will cater to inland container depots (ICD) near Dadri, Tughlakabad, Agra, Kanpur and thermal power plants such as Kalisindh TPS (Thermal Power Station), Kota TPS and Chhabra TPS.
It will improve access to destinations such as the temples at Ujjain, Mathura and Vrindavan besides wildlife sanctuaries such as Ranthambore, Kuno and Keoladeo.
b) Guntakal – Wadi 3rd and 4th Line
Route length: 230 km
Estimated Cost: Rs 4758 crore
Project duration: 4 years
Bridges: 2 mega bridges, 35 major bridges and 382 minor bridges
RUB/LHS: 26
Additional Freight Traffic: 17.4 MTPA
Logistic cost saving: Rs 801 crore per annum
Employment generation: 156 lakh human days
Benefits:
This project will cater to thermal power plants such as Raichur, Yermaras and Bellary. It will facilitate the movement of coal from mines as well as from Krishnapatnam Port and fertilizers from New Mangalore Port and Kakinada Port.
It will improve access to destinations such as Mantralayam Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, Sri Nettikanti Anjaneya Swamy Vari Temple Kasapuram and Raichur Fort.
c) Burhwal – Sitapur 3rd and 4th Line
Route length: 103km
Estimated cost: Rs 2276 crore
Project duration: 4 years
Bridges: 9 major bridges and 113 minor bridges
Bypass: 2 ( Sitapur and Burhwal)
ROB : 1
RUB : 13
ROR : 1
Additional freight traffic: 15.5 MTPA
Logistic cost saving : Rs 321 crore per annum
Employment generation: 70 lakh human days
Benefits:
This project will facilitate coal movement to various thermal power plants in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh besides improving access to Shyamnath temple and Naimisharanya (Neemsar).
