The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved two major railway projects with a combined cost of Rs 6,798 crore. These projects, part of the Ministry of Railways’ initiatives, aim to enhance connectivity, reduce logistics costs, and decrease carbon emissions over the next five years.

The first project involves doubling the Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga and Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur sections in Bihar, covering 256 kilometers. This will improve access to Nepal, northeastern India, and other border regions, supporting both passenger and freight traffic. The second project is the construction of a new railway line between Errupalem and Namburu via Amaravati, spanning 57 kilometers through Andhra Pradesh’s NTR Vijayawada and Guntur districts, as well as Telangana’s Khammam district.

These projects will benefit eight districts across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Bihar, adding 313 kilometers to the Indian Railways network. The new line will serve 168 villages and 1.2 million people, while the multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity for 388 villages and 900,000 people in Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts.

The capacity upgrades are crucial for transporting agricultural products, coal, steel, cement, and more, with an estimated freight increase of 31 million tonnes annually. Environmentally, the projects are expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 168 crore kilograms, equivalent to planting seven crore trees. These efforts align with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, focusing on seamless, multi-modal connectivity across India.

The new line proposal will provide direct connectivity to “Amaravati” the proposed Capital of Andhra Pradesh and improve mobility for industries and the population, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways, as per the CCEA.

The multi-tracking proposal will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways, CCEA added.

(ANI)