Indian Railways (IR) has approved the doubling of the 44.40 km Mansi-Saharsa section of East Central Railway at a cost of ₹499 crore on Tuesday. The project will augment line capacity and cater to the growing demand for passenger and freight traffic.
The Mansi-Saharsa single line section on the Mansi-Saraigarh route, handles 24 pairs of passenger trains daily besides transporting wheat, maize, ballast, boiled rice, cement, fertilisers, rice, salt, sand, stone and sugar.
The current line capacity utilisation is 108.11 per cent and is projected to touch 119.34 per cent by 2028-29. Upon commissioning, the double line is expected to handle an additional 1.764 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) of freight traffic.
IR approves four capacity augmentation /new line projects last fortnight
IR approved four projects last fortnight- three were capacity enhancement projects and one was a new line project. The projects are:
Qadian -Beas new line;
Somatne Chikhli chord line;
Adipur Bhuj doubling and
Champa -Korba 3rd line
Qadian -Beas new railway line
IR on June 18, 2026 revived the 39.68-km Qadian–Beas new broad gauge line project. The project was first approved during 1928–29 by the then North-Western Railway. By 1930s, construction work had progressed but the project was discontinued post independence. The line is an alternative rail route to the Amritsar–Pathankot section during emergency.
The line will connect Qadian in Gurdaspur district with Beas in Amritsar district at an estimated cost of ₹1,400 crore. The proposed alignment passes through Qadian, Dhapai, Ghuman, Butala, Sathiala and Beas, connecting Punjab’s Majha region to the IR network.
The project includes two crossing stations at Ghuman and Butala, 11 major bridges,121 minor bridges, 54 road-under- bridges (RUBs), modern signalling and Kavach.
The line will improve market access for farmers and small-scale industries. It will create employment opportunities besides encouraging investment and economic activity in Punjab’s Majha region.
Somatne-Chikhli Chord Line
IR on June 17, 2026 approved the construction of the Somatne-Chikhli chord line (3.7 km) on Central Railway at a cost of ₹172 crore.
The new chord line will connect Chikhli on the Karjat route to Somatne on the Roha route eliminating loco reversal at the congested Panvel Jn. The project is expected to save approximately 110 minutes per goods train.
The project complements the already approved Panvel Elevated Chord Lines on the JNPT-Karjat and JNPT-Roha sections, completing a crucial missing link in the freight connectivity network. At present, freight trains from JNPT to Karjat / Jasai / Roha are required to reverse their loco at Panvel Jn.
Boost for JNPT bound freight
The project is significant for freight traffic bound for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority/Trust (JNPA/JNPT), which handles nearly 60 per cent of India’s container traffic. The new chord line is expected to transport an additional nine million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of traffic after completion.
Adipur-Bhuj doubling
Indian Railways on June 17, 2026 approved the doubling of the Adipur-Bhuj section (49 km) of Western Railway at a cost of ₹493 crore. This single-line section on the Gandhidham-Naliya corridor, is expected to witness substantial growth in traffic due to several projects such as Bhuj-Naliya gauge conversion; and new lines connecting Naliya-Jakhau, Vayor-Lakhpat, and Deshalpar-Luna.
With these projects nearing completion, significant additional passenger and freight traffic will take the Bhuj-Adipur route. The current line capacity utilisation of the section is projected to increase to 123 per cent by 2029-30.The project has been sanctioned to ensure adequate capacity, improve operational efficiency and cater to future demand.
The project is expected to facilitate the operation of two additional pairs of passenger trains daily besides transporting an additional 12 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of freight.
Champa -Korba 3rd line
IR on June 16, 2026 approved the Champa-Korba third line project (42 km) of South East Central Railway (SECR) at an estimated cost of ₹755 crore. The project aims to strengthen freight movement to the thermal power plants at Korba.
The third line between Champa and Korba, excludes the already sanctioned Madwarani-Saragbundia section. The Champa-Korba section connects South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) with the national rail network.
The section carries 10 pairs of passenger trains and 55 pairs of freight trains daily. The combined coal production capacity of SECL and MCL is about 247 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) and is projected to rise to nearly 450 MTPA, adding over 200 MTPA of additional traffic in the future.
On completion, two more pairs of daily passenger trains and additional freight movement of 5.95 MTPA will be handled. The project is also projected to generate additional annual net earnings of about ₹85 crore- ₹82 crore from freight and ₹3 crore from passenger services. The third line will reduce detention of freight trains of about five minutes in each direction, saving ₹1.30 crore annually.
