Cabinet Approves 8 Railway Multitracking Projects Worth Over ₹20,800 Crore

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved eight railway multitracking projects worth over 20 thousand 800 crore rupees across nine states. The projects will cover around 1,196 km and are expected to improve rail connectivity, ease congestion on existing routes and facilitate faster movement of passengers and freight. They are targeted for completion by 2029-30.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw gave details of the decisions taken by the Union Cabinet during a media briefing in New Delhi today. Mr Vaishnaw said the Cabinet has approved five multitracking projects covering 17 districts across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.

These five projects will add about 540 kilometres to the existing Indian Railways network. The total estimated cost of these projects is more than 10 thousand 21 crore rupees, and they are scheduled to be completed by 2029-30.

The projects include the third and fourth lines between Arakkonam and Renigunta, the third and fourth lines between Whitefield and Bangarapet, and doubling of the Hosur-Omalur line. The approved multitracking projects will improve connectivity to around 2,100 villages, with a combined population of about 52 lakh.

Three More Multitracking Projects Approved

Mr Vaishnaw said the government has also approved three multitracking railway projects at a total estimated cost of more than 10 thousand 700 crore rupees. These projects will cover 14 districts across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and will add about 656 kilometres to the existing railway network.

The three projects are the fourth line between Kharagpur and Jharsuguda, the fourth line between Katni and Pendra Road, and the third line between Bilaspur and Pendra Road.

He said the increased line capacity will significantly improve mobility, operational efficiency and service reliability of Indian Railways. The multitracking projects are also expected to streamline train operations and reduce congestion on busy routes.

Four-Laning and Quadrupling of Seven High-Density Corridors

The Minister further informed that the government has decided to undertake four-laning and quadrupling of all seven high-density railway corridors.

These include the four arms of the Golden Quadrilateral—Delhi to Mumbai, Mumbai to Chennai, Chennai to Kolkata, and Kolkata to Delhi—along with its diagonals, namely Delhi to Chennai, Mumbai to Kolkata, and Delhi to Guwahati.

Together, these routes cover around 11 thousand kilometres of the railway network. Four-laning of around 2,000 kilometres has already been completed.

The newly approved projects are part of the government’s efforts to strengthen capacity on the high-density railway network and improve the overall efficiency of rail transportation.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Service to Begin Next Year

In reply to a question on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that the Bullet Train service will commence next year.

He said construction work on this corridor is progressing rapidly and initially the 100 kilometre section from Surat to Vapi in Gujarat will be opened.