Cabinet Clears Four Major Rail Projects To Ease Congestion, Expand Network Across Six States—All About It

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved four multitracking railway projects worth approximately Rs 11,169 crore, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement on Thursday (31 July).

The projects will expand Indian Railways’ network by around 574 km and are targeted for completion by 2028–29.

The approved projects include:

Itarsi–Nagpur 4th Line

Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar)–Parbhani Doubling

Aluabari Road–New Jalpaiguri 3rd and 4th Lines

Dangoaposi–Jaroli 3rd and 4th Lines

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Together, these projects will cover 13 districts across the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand, significantly increasing line capacity and improving mobility, operational efficiency, and service reliability.

According to the statement, the construction phase will generate around 2.29 crore human-days of direct employment.

The projects are expected to enhance connectivity for approximately 2,309 villages, reaching a population base of about 43.6 lakh.

These multitracking works will support key freight corridors and are essential routes for the transport of coal, cement, clinker, gypsum, fly ash, containers, agricultural commodities, and petroleum products.

The capacity enhancement is projected to handle an additional 95.91 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of freight.

The initiative is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of a “New India”, aiming to make regional populations more Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) by spurring local development and employment opportunities.

The projects also align with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which promotes integrated infrastructure planning and multi-modal logistics connectivity.

In addition to economic and mobility gains, the railway ministry highlighted the projects’ environmental benefits.

The shift from road to rail is expected to help:

Reduce oil imports by 16 crore litres

Cut carbon dioxide emissions by 515 crore kilograms, equivalent to the plantation of 20 crore trees

Railways, being a greener and more energy-efficient mode of transportation, play a key role in India’s climate goals while also contributing to lower logistics costs.

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