Cabinet Clears Eight Railway Multitracking Projects Worth Rs 20,804 Crore Spanning Nine States

Key facts

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved eight railway multitracking projects worth Rs 20,804 crore across nine states, covering around 1,196 km and targeted for completion by 2029-30.
• Five projects worth Rs 10,021 crore covering 540 km across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana include Arakkonam–Renigunta third and fourth lines (77 km), Whitefield–Bangarapet third and fourth lines (47 km), Hosur–Omalur doubling (147 km), Salem–Karur–Dindigul doubling (159 km) and Secunderabad (Ghatkesar)–Kazipet multitracking (110 km).
• The remaining three projects, worth Rs 10,783 crore covering 656 km across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, include Kharagpur–Jharsuguda (Bagdehi) fourth line, Katni–Pendra Road fourth line and Bilaspur (Uslapur)–Pendra Road third line.
• The southern projects will pass through 17 districts, connect 2,121 villages and benefit around 52 lakh people, while the eastern and central projects cover 14 districts, connecting 4,790 villages with around 56 lakh population.
• The projects are expected to add around 74 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of combined freight capacity and support movement of coal, cement, iron and steel, containers, automobiles, foodgrains, petroleum products and fertilisers.
• To be implemented under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, the projects are expected to reduce oil imports by around 20 crore litres and cut carbon dioxide emissions by around 104 crore kg, equivalent to the carbon absorption of around 4.48 crore trees.