New Rail Line Connecting Taranga Hill And Ambaji In Gujarat And Abu Road In Rajasthan Given Green Light

With the aim of providing connectivity to Ambaji, a long pending demand, the Centre has approved Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road new rail line at an estimated cost of Rs 2,798.16 crore for improving mobility of the people in the region.

The 116.65 kilometre long new line will also provide alternate routes between Ahmedabad and Abu Road.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the construction of Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road new rail line project to be constructed by the Ministry of Railways.

The project, expected to be completed by 2026-27, will also generate direct employment for about 40 lakh man-days during construction.

Ambaji is an important pilgrimage destination and is one of the 51 shakti peethas in India and attracts millions of devotees from Gujarat as well as other parts of the country and abroad every year.

The construction of this line will facilitate easy travel for millions of devotees. Further, the devotees visiting the Ajitnath Jain temple (one of the 24 holy Jain Tirthankaras) at Taranga Hill would also be greatly benefitted by this connectivity. This new line between Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road will connect these two important religious spots with the railway's main network.

This line will facilitate faster movement of agricultural and local products and also provide improved mobility of the people in the region within the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan and also to other parts of the country. This project will also provide alternative routes for the existing Ahmedabad-Abu Road railway line.

The alignment of the proposed doubling will traverse through Sirohi district of Rajasthan, and Banaskantha and Mahesana districts of Gujarat. The construction of a new rail line will attract investment and lead to overall socio-economic development of the region.