Rs 750 crore Earmarked to speed up work onWardha-Nanded new railway line
| Date :02-Feb-2024 |
Staff Reporter
As Wardha-Nanded new railway line project has got going, the Central Railway has earmarked Rs 750 crore to speed up its second leg that involves connecting Yavatmal with Nanded. The new route will be a boon for Yavatmal-Nanded region as it will bring them on the railway map. Also, this will be the new route for reaching Mumbai via Latur. The first leg of the project from Wardha to Yavatmal is nearing completion while in the second leg the land acquisition has been done, and construction of bridges are going on at war footing. From the capital fund, Rs 450 crore have been allocated for the new route. Rs 300 crore have been earmarked by the Railways from Safety Fund. While Construction Organisation of Central Railways is entrusted with the work on Wardha-Yavatmal stretch, that of Yavatmal to Nanded is being looked after by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). Continuing with the trend, Railway Ministry has earmarked substantial funds for the ongoing projects and among them of prime importance are the third and fourth line on Wardha-Nagpur route.
The new lines will help in decongesting the high density network of Indian Railways and also are crucial for the movement of coal and iron ore as also for the passenger traffic on Howrah-Mumbai as well as Grand Trunk routes.
For the third line on Wardha (Sewagram)-Nagpur -- a stretch of 76.3 km -- Rs 125 crore are earmarked for the next financial year while for the fourth line, Rs 120 crore have been allocated. Work on both the lines is going on simultaneously and the focus is to complete the Ajni-Khapri section in the near future. The commissioning of this section will help in easing the bottleneck in train operations on the crucial route. The funds allocated are from capital account. Another important route, the work on which is currently on under the Central Railway, is that of Pachora-Jamner that is to be extended upto Malkapur. This 84 km Narrow Gauge route is being converted into Broad Gauge (BG). The BG work was sanctioned by Gati-Shakti Unit by Network Planning Group (NPG) as this link will ensure faster movement of container traffic from Nagpur to JNPT. Total project cost is pegged at Rs 955 crore, while Rs 300 crore for next financial year have been allocated in the budget.
Similarly, Rs 100 crore have been allocated for Bhusawal-Wardha third line, which has a 313 km route. This section is also crucial for movement of coal and passenger traffic. The additional line will help in decongesting the corridor. Another work in Central Railway jurisdiction is Itarsi-Nagpur third line for which Rs 320 crore are kept in the budget. The new line is 280 km, and 20 km from Katol to Nagpur has been proposed to be readied for train traffic by the end of the financial year. Another important ongoing work is development of Satellite terminal facility at Ajni railway station for which Rs 75 crore is earmarked in the budget. Much of the work relating to laying of new tracks is nearing completion. Rest of the facilities are being constructed during the development of world class amenities.
SECR project gets a push too
The focus of Central India in Railway Budget ensured that South East Central Railway's (SECR) Nagpur Division too got a push for its ongoing infrastructure project. The most crucial is ongoing 3rd line on Rajnandgaon-Nagpur route for which Rs 305.90 crore are earmarked. The section is high congested and the third line is just the need of the hour as long distance passenger trains are facing path issue due to high density movement of coal from the route. Another important work in the SECR is that of new line in mineral ore rich Gadchiroli district where Rs. 150 crore are kept aside for Wadsa-Gadchiroli route. The construction work is yet to get going owing to presence of forest land in the area and hence the delay. This is a 49.5 km route that will help in development of erstwhile naxal hot bed. Railways have partnered with Maharashtra Government for the project. Besides the last remaining work on Gondia-Balaghat-Katangi a 285 km route Rs. 40 crores are allocated. For the Chhindwara-Mandla Fort Gauge Conversion work Rs 50 crore are allocated and for smaller work on Chhindwara-Nagpur route Rs. 10 crores. Also Rs. 30 crore are given to 4th line on Rajnandgaon-Dongargarh section.