Indian Railways has approved construction of a 14.52-kilometre third railway line between Nimpura West Outer Cabin and Midnapur on the South Eastern Railway at an estimated cost of Rs 4.4 bn. The project forms part of efforts to augment capacity on high-density routes and to speed movement of passenger and freight services while meeting rising transport needs of industry and essential commodities.

The sanctioned work covers the 14.52-kilometre stretch which lies on the High Utilisation Network HUN-2 where the Nimpura West Outer Cabin–Gokulpur section currently operates as a single line and doubling work is under way. The additional third line is expected to enhance line capacity and operational flexibility along the route and to relieve congestion that has developed due to heavy usage.

The Ministry of Railways said the corridor handles substantial volumes of passenger and freight traffic and listed commodities moved including coal, iron ore, manganese, containers, clinker, pellet iron, iron and steel, wheat, stone, sleepers, slag, salt, rice, petroleum products, limestone, gypsum, fertilisers, edible oil, chemical salt, charcoal, cement, ballast and ash. The route currently records annual freight loading of 23.80 million tonnes per annum (mn t per annum) and is operating at 115.71 per cent capacity, creating operational constraints.

The new third line is expected to create additional capacity for both passenger and freight services and is projected to support an extra 3.52 million tonnes per annum (mn t per annum) of freight, strengthening transport of key industrial and essential commodities across the region. The Ministry said enhanced infrastructure will improve operational efficiency, increase network reliability and strengthen connectivity for industries that depend on the corridor, and the approval forms part of wider efforts to expand capacity on high-density routes to support economic growth.