2 Rail Projects related to Bihar got approval

• 17 Aug 2023

Why is News?

On August 16, 2023, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a total of 7 projects of the Ministry of Railways at an estimated cost of about Rs 32,500 crore with 100 percent funding from the Central Government, including 2 projects in Bihar.

Key Points:  

• The proposals for these multi-tracking projects will facilitate ease of operation and reduce congestion, thereby enabling necessary infrastructure development on the congested sections of Indian Railways.
• These projects covering 35 districts of 9 States, namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal will augment the existing network of Indian Railways by 2339 km. Apart from this, employment of 7.06 crore man-days will be available to the people of the states.
• These are essential routes for transportation of various commodities like foodgrains, fertilizers, coal, cement, fly-ash, iron and finished steel, clinker, crude oil, limestone, edible oil etc. The capacity addition works will result in transportation of additional 200 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) of freight. Being an environment-friendly and energy efficient mode of transport, railways will help achieve climate goals and reduce the country's logistics costs.
• 89.264 km of existing Gorakhpur Cantonment (Valmiki Nagar single line section) in Uttar Pradesh and 6.676 km of Bihar (West Champaran) will be doubled.
• An 854-metre-long bridge will also be built over the Gandak river on the same route. This track with 12 stations will pass through the Nepal border. After the doubling of this track, 15 additional freight trains will be run on this route.
• The length of the Son Nagar-Andal multi-tracking project will be 375 km. It is an extension of the Ludhiana-Sonnagar section, which includes 132.57 km in Bihar (Gaya, Aurangabad), 201.608 km in Jharkhand (Dhanbad, Giridih, Hazaribagh, Koderma) and 40.35 km in West Bengal (West Burdwan).
• These projects are the result of PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Connectivity, which has been made possible by integrated planning. These will provide seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services.
• These projects are in line with the Prime Minister's vision of New India, which will make the people of the region 'self-reliant' by creating a multi-tasking workforce in the region and increase their employment/self-employment opportunities.