NEW DELHI: Central cabinet has green signalled seven rail connectivity projects which will cost about ₹32,500 crore to the government.
These rail connectivity projects will cover Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and West Bengal. These projects will add 2,339 km of additional tracks to the railway network.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Government of India, said that the doubling single-line section of the Gorakhpur Cantonment-Valmiki Nagar (Bihar) railway line will reduce the travel time of trains to eastern Uttar Pradesh, North Bihar, Assam and Tripura and also for the passengers coming and going to Nepal. Implementation of this proposal will cost ₹1,269.8 crore to the central treasury.
Similarly, doubling Guntur-Bibinagar (Telangana) single-line section will reduce the distance between Chennai and Secunderabad by 76 km at the cost of ₹3,238 crore. On the other hand, doubling of Chopan-Chukar single-line section will provide faster connectivity of Varanasi, Lucknow and Delhi with mines in Singrauli and the cement industry in the Chukar Churk area.