Union Cabinet has approved 4 railway projects. “Seven railway corridors carry 41 per cent of the total rail traffic. We have recently launched several projects to strengthen these corridors and connect more,” Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said at a media briefing after the Cabinet meeting. He said that now it has been decided to make four lanes in these corridors and wherever possible, six lanes.
4 new railway projects got approval
The Union Cabinet has approved four railway projects, the total cost of which is approximately Rs 24,634 crore. These projects include:
- Approval for three lane and four lane railway between Wardha-Bhusaval, total distance 314 km (Maharashtra)
- Approval of four line of railway between Gondia-Dongargarh, the total distance of which is 84 km. (Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh)
- Approval for three and four lanes between Vadodara-Talam, whose total distance is 259 km. (Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh)
- Approval for four lines of railway between Itarsi-Bhopal-Beenal, the total distance of which is 237 km. (Madhya Pradesh)
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, “As many railway projects are coming up, logistics costs are coming down. Many countries like us in population and economy have laid emphasis on railways as it is environment-friendly and also helps in reducing costs.”
These four projects covering 18 districts in the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh will expand the existing network of Indian Railways by approximately 894 km. The multi-tracking project approved by the Center will increase connectivity to about 3,633 villages, with a population of about 85.84 lakh, and two districts (Vidisha and Rajnandgaon).
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, “Now things are changing. We have increased the manufacturing of engines to a great extent. We are producing 1,600 engines every year, which is more than the combined production of Europe and North America. Every year we are producing 7,000 coaches, which is more than the combined production of Europe, North America and Japan.”
(This story is being updated…)