Cabinet has approved four infrastructure projects comprising two railway schemes and two road works at a combined cost of Rs 119.44 billion (bn). The projects were cleared to improve connectivity and freight movement in eastern and central regions.

The railway schemes consist of the Sainthia-Pakur fourth line covering an 81-km stretch and the Santragachi-Kharagpur fourth line, both located in West Bengal with parts extending into Jharkhand in the former case. Officials indicated that the Sainthia-Pakur route forms an important link on the Howrah-Guwahati and Howrah-Patna corridors while the Santragachi-Kharagpur scheme contributes to quadrupling on the Mumbai-Howrah and Howrah-Chennai high density routes. Together the two rail projects will add about 192 km to the existing network across five districts in the two states. They are expected to raise freight loading by 31 million tonnes (mn t) per annum and to ease congestion on key corridors.

The approved road schemes include the four-laning of the Badnawar-Timarwani section of National Highway 752D, which links central India to the western trade corridor by connecting NH 52 and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The other road project funds construction of an elevated link to the Jewar International Airport from the Faridabad-Ballabhgarh-Sohna spur of the expressway. The Jewar connectivity project spans seven point eight km and intersects the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the Yamuna Expressway and the Dedicated Freight Corridor.

Officials noted that the four-laning work on the Ujjain to Badnawar section has already been completed and that the new section will integrate with existing corridors to shorten transit times for goods traffic. The mix of rail and road investment is intended to bolster logistics efficiency, support industrial linkages and accommodate projected growth in freight volumes. Implementation timelines and detailed funding allocations were set out for monitoring and execution.