Indian Railways has approved construction of an 11 km bypass line between Adra end and Joychandipahar in South Eastern Railway at a total cost of Rs 2,720 million (Rs 2,720 mn), the Ministry of Railways said in a release. The link will provide dedicated path segregation and a bi-directional connection to the upcoming third line to facilitate freight flow and reduce conflicts. The scheme is intended to address operational bottlenecks and surface-crossing detentions on the Adra Joychandipahar section.

The bypass is expected to support the projected movement of six point zero six five freight rakes per day and to accommodate increased industrial traffic. It will particularly facilitate freight linked to Steel Authority of India Limited's 23.40 million tonnes per annum iron ore demand and Bharat Coking Coal Limited's projection of 45 rakes per day. The design aims to improve throughput and reliability for heavy commodity consignments.

At present the network operates at 71 per cent utilisation with freight speeds affected by surface crossing conflicts, the release said. The current line capacity of the Joychandipahar Adra section is 47.50 per cent and is expected to rise to 56.45 per cent by 2028-29 following completion. The project is expected to enable additional traffic of eight point eight eight million tonnes per annum and to translate future industrial growth into higher rail throughput.

The scheme forms part of the Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor identified by Indian Railways and is intended to strengthen freight infrastructure in the Adra Joychandipahar corridor. By creating additional capacity and reducing surface crossing conflicts the bypass should improve efficiency and support congestion-free movement of industrial commodities. Authorities consider the work a strategic measure to enable reliable long term freight growth on the route.