The Union Cabinet has approved two projects of the Ministry of Railways with a total cost of six thousand 405 crore rupees. The projects include the doubling of Koderma – Barkakana rail line has been approved at a cost of three thousand and 63 crore rupees, while the doubling of the Ballari – Chikjajur rail line has been approved at a cost of three thousand and 342 crore rupees. Briefing media in New Delhi after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Koderma – Barkakana doubling project of 133 kilometres will provide enhanced connectivity to 938 villages and 15 lakh population. He said, the projects will connect four districts in Jharkhand – Koderma, Chatra, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh. Mr Vaishnaw informed that the project section will pass through a major coal-producing area of Jharkhand.
Mr Vaishnaw said, the second project Ballary – Chikjajur doubling rail line of 185 kilometres will connect Mangalore port to Secunderabad. He said, the project line traverses through Ballari and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Mr Vaishnaw said that the project will cater to the transport of iron ore, coking coal, finished steel and fertilizers.
Mr Vaishnaw said that this project will be completed in three years. The two projects covering seven Districts across the states of Jharkhand, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 318 Kms. The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. It will enhance connectivity to over one thousand four hundred villages, which have a population of over 28 lakh. The projects will generate direct employment for about 108 lakh human-days during construction. The Union Minister also informed that during the third term of the Narendra Modi government, several projects worth over four lakh 58 thousand crore rupees have been undertaken to reduce the transportation and logistics cost. He said, because of the investment made in the transportation, the logistics cost has been reduced by four percentage points.
