The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, approved three quadrupling railway projects totalling Rs 18509 crore. These projects are Kasara – Manmad 3rd and 4th line, Delhi – Ambala 3rd and 4th line and Ballari – Hosapete 3rd and 4th line. These projects will add 389 track km to Indian Railways (IR).
Benefits
The increase in line capacity will de-congest these three sections and improve operational efficiency on IR. These three projects are essential routes for transportation of coal, steel, iron ore, cement, limestone / bauxite, container, food grains, sugar, fertilizers and POL. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 96 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). It will reduce oil import of 22 crore litres.
Project Details
The project details are as follows:
- Kasara – Manmad 3rd and 4th line
Route length: 131km
Estimated cost: Rs 10,154Cr
Project duration: 5 years
Bridges – 3 important bridges, 16 major and 218 minor bridges
Road-Over-Bridges (ROBs) -5,
Road-Under-Bridges (RUBs) – 21
Tunnels – 5 (longest will be 24 km)
Post completion, there would be no need to attach banker locomotives on the Thull Ghat between Kasara and Igatpuri. This line will support more passenger trains, improve connectivity to Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga, Bhavli dam, Ghatan Devi Mata mandir b esides serving economic nodes, ports, power plants,multi-modal logistic hubs and inland container depots (ICDs). Additional freight traffic on this line is estimated at 46.1 MTPA. The project will save logictics cost of Rs 1,207 crore per annum and generate 89 lakh human-days of employment.
2. Delhi- Ambala quadrupling
Route length – 194 km
Estimated cost – Rs 5983 crore
Project duration – 4 years
Bridges- 1 important, 28 major and 178 minor bridges
ROBs -2
RUBs-79
The line will improve connectivity to Jammu, Katra, Srinagar and Shimla besides serving Rajpura, Ropar and Panipat Thermal Power plants. The quadrupled line will covey extra freight traffic of 24.6 MTPA. It will save logistics cost of Rs 952 crore each year and generate 132 lakh human-days of employment.
3. Ballari- Hosapete 3rd and 4th line
Route length – 65 km
Estimated cost Rs 2372 crore
Project duration – 4 years
Bridges- 34 major and 220 minor bridges
ROBs -11
RUBs -14
The project will carry extra freight traffic of 25 MTPA. Logistics cost of Rs 323 crore every year will be saved and 44 lakh human-days of employment will be generated. The quadrupled line will improve to Ballari’s iron ore rich region, Unesco’s World Heritage site at Hampi, Ballari Fort, Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary,Tungabhadra Dam, Kenchanagudda and Vijaya Vittala temple.
