Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Centre has approved four multi tracking projects of the Ministry of Railways involving a total cost of about Rs 18,658 crore.
The four projects covering 15 districts in 3 states of Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 1,247 km, the government said in a statement.
The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The enhanced line capacity will improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways," the press note said.
Highlighting their benefits, the government said with these projects, 19 new stations will be constructed, enhancing connectivity to two aspirational districts such as Gadchiroli and Rajnandgaon besides enhancing connectivity to approximately 3,350 villages and about 47.25 lakh population.