Bhubaneswar, July 15: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved two multitracking projects of the Ministry of Railways with total cost of around Rs 3,907 crore. These projects include, Paradeep – Haridaspur – Doubling and Rajkharsawan – Dangoaposi - 4th Line.

The projects are planned on PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity & logistic efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.

The two projects covering four districts across the States of Odisha and Jharkhand will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 145 Kms.

The proposed multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approx 1,526 villages, which are having a population of about 14 lakhs.

The proposed capacity enhancement will improve rail connectivity to several prominent tourist destinations across the country, including Lalitgiri Buddhist Complex, Shree Baladevjew Temple, Meghahatuburu Hills, etc.

The proposed projects are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, iron ore, dolomite, limestone, gypsum, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 44 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (06 Crore Litres) and lower CO2 emissions (29 Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 01 (One) Crore trees.

The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion.