Three rail projects with a total length of 850+ km were approved under PM Gati Shakti to speed up the movement of coal, and iron ore.
Government sources have told CNBC-TV18 that the Network planning group (NPG) of PM Gati Shakti held its 44th meeting on 15th February to optimise projects and approved 3 rail projects with a total length of over 850 kilometres.
Railway lines on the 98.25 km stretch from Aurangabad and Ankai stations in Maharashtra will be doubled to add a speed of 30 km/h. The move will increase train speeds to 90 km/h on the stretch and aims to benefit the operations of local steel units as well as speed up the transport of foodgrain from North India.
The 2nd project will be the addition of the 3rd rail line which will be laid on the 385 km-long Bhadrak-Vizianagaram section between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The project aims to strengthen the movement of coal from Talcher and Paradip to South India and the movement of iron ore for steel plants. The project also intends to quicker coal evacuation from the Vizag port along with a reduction in the turnaround time of containers.
Also Read:Indian railways to provide connectivity to 55 of 95 unconnected towns with over 50,000 population
The 3rd project is the now-approved 3rd and 4th dedicated freight rail route to be laid on the 374 km long stretch from Sonnagar in Bihar to Andal in West Bengal, which will connect Jharkhand's coal and steel belt and the Haldia port to North India. So far, NPG under PM Gati Shakti has approved 66 projects worth Rs. 4,73,383.13 crores in 44 meetings for holistic planning, including a total of 24 projects worth Rs. 7,000 crores to optimise connectivity to economic clusters.
To improve infrastructure as per PM Gati Shakti, the concept of multi-modal logistics parks is being worked upon to reach global standards of efficiency. Sectoral plans for efficient logistics are being prepared under National Logistics Policy to identify missing infrastructure links across sectors like coal, cement, steel and fertilisers. 100 infrastructure gaps of missing road and rail links are aimed at being filled and attempts are being made to create pipelines of infrastructure projects to attract investors with external connectivity.
(Edited by : Sangam Singh)
First Published: Feb 16, 2023 8:13 PM IST
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