Centre’s nod to 3 multi-tracking projects in SECR ECR and SER

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cleared the construction of three multitracking projects in three railways zones- South East Central Railway (SECR), South Eastern Railway (SER) and East Central Railway (ECR).

The projects are as follows:

Gondia – Jabalpur doubling (SECR) 

Punarakh – Kiul 3^rd and 4^th line (ECR) [This is a part of the 400-km, multitracking of DDU -Jhajha section situated in Danapur division of ECR]

Gamharia – Chandil 3^rd and 4^th line (SER)

The total cost of these projects is approximately  Rs 9072 crore with completion likely by 2030-31. Once completed, it will add 307 km to the Indian Railways’ (IR) network,

 These projects will cover eight districts across the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand connecting 5,407 villages, with a population of about 98 lakh. The increased line capacity will significantly improve IR’s operational efficiency.

History of these 3 sections

Section today	Section constructed as	Railway Company	Distance in miles	Date opened on	Gauge
Chandil -Gamharia	Purulia -Chakradharpur	Bengal Nagpur Railway	71.54	January 22,1890	5’6″ BG
Chandil-Gamharia	Kandrra-Gomharria chord	Bengal Nagpur Railway	6.42	December 2,1919	5’6″ BG
Gondia -Jabalpur	Jubbulpore-Howbagh	Bengal Nagpur Railway	1.38	September 15,1905	2’6″ NG
Gondia -Jabalpur	Howbagh-Burgi	Bengal Nagpur Railway	16.1	April7,1905	2’6″ NG
Gondia -Jabalpur	Burgi-Nainpur	Bengal Nagpur Railway	51.47	July 5,1904	2’6″ NG
Gondia -Jabalpur	Nainpur-Gondia	Bengal Nagpur Railway	72.66	April 18,1903	2’6″ NG
Punarakh-Kiul	Luckeeserai-Dinapore	East Indian Railway	82.42	November 17,1862	5’6″ BG
Punarakh -Kiul	Jamalpur-Kiul	East Indian Railway	28	November 7,1862	5’6″ BG

 These multi-tracking proposals decongest these saturated routes and streamline train operations. These routes  are essential for transportation of commodities-coal, steel, iron ore, cement, ballast and stone chips, fly ash, fertilizers, limestone, manganese, dolomite, food grains and POL. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of 52 MTPA(Million tonnes per annum).

 Better connectivity to tourist destinations

Destinations such as Kachnar Shiv Temple (Jabalpur), Kanha National Park(Balaghat), Gangulpara Dam and Waterfall, Pench National Park, Dhuandhar waterfall, Bargi Dam, Gomji-Somji temple, Chandil Dam, Dalma Hill Top, Hesakocha Waterfall, Raijama Ghati, DalmaWildlife Sanctuary, will be connected better than before.

Project details

Route	Gondia Jabalpur Doubling	Punarakh Kiul 3rd and 4th line	Gamharia-Chandil 3rd and 4th line
Railway Zone /Division	SECR /Nagpur excluding Jabalpur	ECR /Danapur	SER /Chakradharpur excluding Chandil
Route length in km	231	50	26
Track length in Km	258	115	68
Estimated cost in Rs crore	5236	2268	1168
Project duration in years	5	3	3
Districts	Gondia, Jabalpur, Balaghat, Seoni and Mandla	Patna and Lakhisarai	Saraikela Kharsawan
Important bridges	1	14	0
Major bridges	65	18	13
Minor bridges	369	62	59
Rail over rail bridge	0	0	2
Road Over bridge	0	0	2
Road under bridge	88	0	13
Level crossings	28	4	4
Additional annual freight in mn tons	7.6	18	26.8
Logistics cost savings /yr in Rs crore	350	178	139
Employment generation in lakh human days	78	34	18

Benefits

Gondia-Jabalpur doubling will provide an alternate shorter route from Varanasi / Prayagraj to Chennai /Bengaluru / Hyderabad. This project will serve power plants, ordnance factory and mines. A provision of Rs 450 crore for wildlife underpass and fencing has been made in this project.

Punarakh -Kiul 3^rd and 4^th line will improve connectivity of Northeastern and Eastern states with North India. This project will cater to mines, NTPC power plants (Barh, Barauni and Kanti) besides the cement industry in Daniyawan and Warsaliganj.

Gamharia Chandil 3^rd and 4^th line will cater to mines, power plants, industries and SEZs. It will increase transportation of coal and iron ore to various steel plants at Bokaro,Durgapur and Burnpur.