The Government of India has approved seven major capacity expansion projects on Indian Railways. These projects envisage the doubling or the addition of the third and fourth railway lines on key routes at a cost of Rs. 32,500 crores.
According to a PIB release, the proposals will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on some of the busiest sections across IR.
The total length of track added under the seven projects is approximately 2,339 kilometers.
| S.No. | Name of the Project | Nature of the Project |
| 1 | Gorakhpur-Cantt-Valmiki Nagar | Doubling of existing line |
| 2 | Son Nagar-Andal Multi tracking Project | Multi Tracking |
| 3 | Nergundi-Barang and Khurda Road-Vizianagaram | 3rd Line |
| 4 | Mudkhed-Medchal and Mahbubnagar-Dhone | Doubling of the existing line |
| 5 | Guntur-Bibinagar | Doubling of the existing line |
| 6 | Chopan-Chunar | Doubling of existing line |
| 7 | Samakhiali-Gandhidham | Quadrupling |
| # | Project |
| 1 | Doubling of Existing Gorakhpur Cantt – Valmiki Nagar Single Line section Length: 96 Km Cost: 1,269.8 Cr Major bridge on river: Gandak (854M) Uttar Pradesh (89.3 Km) Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushi nagar Bihar (6.7 Km) West Champaran Entire Lumding to Punjab route has doubling work either sanctioned or completed. Industry: NE connectivity will get major boostFood grains, fertilisers, cement, coal, Iron and stone chips to eastern and NE regionNepal connectivity of Nautanwa, Raxaul/ Birgunj and JogbaniJute and sugar industries and Maize and its products of North Bihar will be benefited Passengers: 2 to 3 hrs saving in running time for trains to Assam, Tripura, North Bihar and Eastern UP, and for passengers to and from NepalMost neglected section between Narkatiaganj and Gorakhpur will have more passenger trains |
| 2 | Doubling of Existing Guntur – Bibinagar Single Line section Length: 239 Km Cost: 3238 Cr Major bridge on river: Krishna (458M) Andhra Pradesh (100 Km) Guntur Telangana (139 Km) Nalgonda, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri Industry : Andhra Pradesh Cement industry Jaggayyapeta cluster Telangana Food grain of Nalgonda district12 – 13 Cement companies in Janpahad areaYadadri thermal power house 4000 MW upcoming Passengers: Distance of Chennai from Secunderabad will reduce by 76 KmVijayawada to Secunderabad distance will reduce by 38 Km |
| 3 | Doubling of Existing Chopan – Chunar single line section Length: 102 Km Cost: 1,553 Cr Major bridge on river: Son (1,128M) Uttar Pradesh Mirzapur, Sonbhadra Industry: Singrauli area is a storehouse of 15,000 MW powerhousesCement industry of Chunar Churk region Coal of NCL and CCL to DFC Fly ash, ballast to Bihar and UP Passengers: Central power hub and Singrauli mines workers will get faster connectivity to Varanasi, Lucknow and Delhi |
| 4 | Doubling between Mudkhed-Medchal & Mahbubnagar-Dhone section Length: 418 Km Cost: 5,655.4 Cr Major bridges on river: Krishna (833M and 823M), Godavari (421M) Maharashtra (49 Km) Nanded Telangana (295 Km) Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Medak, Wanaparthy, Jogulamba, Medchal-malkajgiri Andhra Pradesh (74 Km) Mahbubnagar, Kurnool, Dhone Industry: Maharashtra Parbhani sugar industry Washim and Hingoli soya produce will get export market through eastern ports Telangana Godwad, Wanaparth and Veldurthi quartz quarries will get export market Mahbubnagar confectionaries to Northern and Western markets Andhra Pradesh Upcoming steel and chemical industry (Rajasthan and Gujarat salt) of Rayalaseema Passengers: Connectivity of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat to South will reduce by 3-4 hours20-25 trains are running in the section daily |
| 5 | Quadrupling between Samakhiali and Gandhidham Length: 53 Km Cost: 1,571 Cr Gujarat Kutch Industry: Ports – Deen Dayal, Mundra, Jakhau and TunaDevelopment of Kutch areaCement hub of Bayor will get wider market Limestone mine, bentonite and salt (Hajipir area) will start moving on cheaper rail mode Passengers: Running time of passengers will reduceMatanamadh, Koteswar and Narayan Sarovar will become major pilgrim and tourism centres |
| 6 | 3rd line between Nergundi – Barang & Khurda Road – Vizianagaram Length: 385 Km Cost: 5,618 Cr Major bridges on river: Birup (488M), Mahanadi (2,096M), Kothjori (822M), Rusikulya (457M), Banasdhara (410M), Kuakhai (822M) Odisha (184 Km) Bhadrak, Jajpur, Khordha, Cuttack, Ganjam Andhra Pradesh (201 Km) Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam Industry: Odisha Domestic coal to south India through all rail route from TalcherCoal from Paradeep and Gopalpur ports to steel plantsRaw material (clinker, pet coke etc) for cement plants from Paradeep port Will benefit export of steel from various steel plants Faster movement of iron ore from mines in Keonjhar district to various ports Andhra Pradesh Seamless transportation of Coal from Vishakhaptnam and Gangavaram ports to steel plants in Odisha Passengers: Railways can run more train services in Odisha/ Andhra Pradesh routes |
| 7 | Son Nagar – Andal Multi-tracking Project Length: 374.5 Km Cost: 13,606 Cr Major bridges on river: Phalgu (686M), Barakar(594M) Bihar (132.6 Km) Gaya, Aurangabad Jharkhand (201.6 Km) Dhanbad, Girdih, Hazaribagh, Koderma West Bengal (40.3 Km) Paschim Bardhman Industry: Currently, 35 trains are operational each way, and this number will increase to 100+ by 2050It will decongest Delhi-Howrah route and Delhi-Howrah industrial corridor will get a major boostWill help to increase Railway’s modal share from 27% to 40%Mines and industrial produce of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha will have reach to a wider marketHosiery, food grains, fertiliser, cement Passengers: Currently, 40 Mail/ Express trains are running between Kolkata and Delhi. Due to this project, the number will increase by manifold. |
According to the PIB release, these are essential routes for the transportation of varied baskets of commodities. Freight traffic of foodgrains, fertilizers, coal, cement, fly ash, iron and finished steel, clinkers, crude oil, limestone, and edible oil are expected to benefit. The projects are expected to add freight traffic of up to 200 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum).
“The projects covering 35 Districts in 9 States i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2339 Kms. and will provide employment of 7.06 crore man-days to the people of the states,” says the Government of India release.
