Union Cabinet Approves â‚ą11,169 Crore for Four Multi-Tracking Railway Projects Covering 882 km Across Six States.
National
On 31 July 2025, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved four critical multi‑tracking railway projects under the Ministry of Railways, with a total investment of approximately ₹11,169 crore. These projects span 13 districts across six states and aim to decongest rail networks while lowering logistics costs.
- The sanctioned projects—including the Itarsi–Nagpur 4th Line, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar)–Parbhani Doubling, Aluabari Road–New Jalpaiguri 3rd & 4th Line, and Dangoaposi–Jaroli 3rd & 4th Line—will collectively extend India’s rail network by approximately 574 kilometres, improving capacity and connectivity in high-density freight and passenger corridors.
- These projects span six states—Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand—covering 13 districts and directly benefiting around 2,309 villages with a combined population of approximately 43.6 lakh (4.36 million).
- Once completed, the augmented lines are expected to handle an additional 95.91 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of freight traffic, facilitating the smooth movement of key commodities like coal, cement, clinker, gypsum, fly ash, containers, agricultural commodities, and petroleum products.
Main Point :- (i) These rail expansion projects are projected to reduce national logistics costs by over ₹11,500 crore, cut oil imports by 16 crore litres, and lower CO₂ emissions by 515 crore kg—equivalent to planting 20 crore trees—thus supporting India’s climate goals.
(ii) The implementation will generate approximately 229 lakh human-days of direct employment during construction. These multi-tracking initiatives align with India’s PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, aiming to enhance multi-modal connectivity and promote Atmanirbhar Bharat through integrated infrastructure development.
(iii) Slated for completion by 2028–29, these projects are expected to significantly decongest key corridors—especially those overlapping with the Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Chennai high-density networks—boosting operational efficiency and service reliability for both freight and passenger services.
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