Cabinet Clears Rs 111 Billion Railway Upgrade Across 6 States

05 Aug 2025 CW Team

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved four major railway multitracking projects worth approximately Rs 111 billion. These projects, spread across 13 districts in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand, will expand the Indian Railways network by 574 kilometres and are scheduled for completion by 2028–29.

The approved corridors include the fourth line between Itarsi and Nagpur, doubling of the Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar)–Parbhani section, and the third and fourth lines on the Aluabari Road–New Jalpaiguri and Dangoaposi–Jaroli routes.

These multitracking initiatives are aligned with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which aims to achieve multi-modal connectivity through coordinated planning and stakeholder integration.

Once operational, these upgrades are expected to ease congestion, boost operational efficiency, and enhance the reliability of freight and passenger services. The projects will support vital freight routes for coal, cement, clinker, gypsum, fly ash, containers, agricultural produce, and petroleum products, with an estimated capacity to handle an additional 95.91 million tonnes per annum.

During construction, the projects will benefit approximately 2,309 villages with a combined population of around 43.6 million and are projected to create about 229 million person-days of direct employment.

From an environmental perspective, the enhanced rail capacity is expected to reduce annual oil imports by 160 million litres and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 5.15 billion kilograms – equivalent to planting roughly 2 billion trees.

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