The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved three railway projects with a total estimated cost of Rs 6,456 crore. According to the Railways ministry, these projects are the result of PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity and will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services, facilitate ease of travelling, reduce oil imports, and lower carbon dioxide emissions.
The three approved projects include two new railway lines and one multi-tracking project. They will cover seven districts across four states including Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh and will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 300 kms. "With these projects, 14 new stations will be constructed, providing enhanced connectivity to two aspirational districts (Nuapada and East Singhbum)," a statement by the Ministry of Railways said.
According to the statement, "the approved projects will improve logistical efficiency by connecting the unconnected areas, increase the existing line capacity, and enhance the transportation networks, resulting in streamlined supply chains and accelerated economic growth."
These new lines will provide direct connectivity and improve mobility, thereby providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for the Indian Railways. "The multi-tracking proposal will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across the Indian Railways," the ministry said.
"These projects are in line with PM Modi's vision of a 'New India' which will make people of the region 'Atmanirbhar' through comprehensive development in the region, enhancing their employment and self-employment opportunities," it added.
The statement also noted that the new line projects will provide connectivity to 1,300 villages, benefitting 11 lakh population. The multi-tracking project will improve the connectivity to around 1,300 villages and 19 lakh population. It will also generate a direct employment for 114 lakh man-days during construction.
The Railways ministry also emphasised that these routes are essential for transportation of commodities such as agriculture products, fertilizer, coal, iron ore, steel, cement, and limestone, adding that the "capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 45 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum)."
"The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (10 crore litres) and lower CO2 emissions (240 crore kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 9.7 crore trees," it added.
During a press conference, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the average construction pace in railways has increased from 4 km per day to 14.5 km per day in ten years. He also added that 5300 km of railway lines were added to the exisiting railways network in 2023, and that all the sanctioned projects will be completed in the next 4.5-5 years.
Reacting to the risks posed by foreign objects being placed on tracks, Vaishnaw stated that the ministry was conducting a detailed inquiry into each incident. Calling the issue "sensitive" he said: " In some incidents, a disturbing trend has been seen...Our focus is on running Railways smoothly...I think Railways and Defence should be above politics..."