The Union Budget had several allocations for railway projects in the South Central Railway (SCR) Zone. The net plan outlay for SCR for the financial year 2019-20 is Rs. 3,366.8 crores.
Some highlights:
New Line / Doubling / Tripling, etc.
Munirabad – Mahbubnagar New Line: Allocated Rs. 225 crores for FY20. Approximately Rs. 700 crores have already been spent so far out of the total sanctioned cost of approximately 2,450 crore 246 km long project.
Kotipalli – Narsapur New Line: Rs. 200 crores allocated for FY20 for this coastal route out of the total sanctioned project cost of Rs. 2,220 crores for the project.
Manoharabad – Kotapalli New Line: Rs. 200 crores allocated out of the approximately Rs. 1,000 crore sanctioned cost in FY20. Bhadrachalam Road – Sattupalli New Line: Rs. 700 crores has been earmarked for this 309 km line for FY20.
In all, Rs. 1,848 crores have been allocated to various new line construction projects in SCR.
Similarly, a total of Rs. 2,006 crores have been allocated for doubling and tripling works in the zone. This includes the SCR portion of the Daund—Gulbarga project, with Rs. 290 crores, Rs, 35 crores for Mudkhed – Parbhani doubling, Rs. 110 crores for Kazipet – Vijayawada tripling, Rs. 350 crores for Vijayawada – Gudur 3rd line, Rs. 265 crores for the Kazipet – Ballarshah 3rd Line, and Rs. 135 crores for doubling of the Gooty Dharmavaram section among minor allocations for several smaller projects.
Another Rs. 200 crores have been allocated towards doubling of the Secunderabad – Mehboobnagar line. Rs. 275 crores have also been allocated for doubling of the Vijayawada – Guntur line.
Signalling
SCR has been allocated Rs. 7 crores for installation of Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) on the Bidar – Parli – Parbhani and Manmad – Parbhani – Nanded – Secunderabad – Gadwal – Dhone – Guntakal sections of its network. Total sanctioned cost for the project is approximately Rs. 210 crores.
Setting up of a Modern Train Control System and LTE based Modern Train Communication System was sanctioned in the budget for 2018-19 on the Chennai Central – Mumbai stretch. SCR has been allocated Rs. 50 crores out of Rs. 404 crores for implementation of the project in its territory.
Allocations for passenger amenities and station improvements
SCR has also been allocated Rs. 170 crores for various station improvement, FOB, escalator and lift works all over the zone, with a total of over Rs. 240 crores allocated in FY20 for passenger amenities on the zone.
New Workshops, upgrades for existing units
Approximately Rs. 200 crores have been allocated in FY20 for new workshops, loco sheds, production units, and upgrades to old units in the zone. This includes an allocation of Rs. 80 crores for setting up of a mid-life rehabilitation workshop for coaches at Kurnool.
