Union Cabinet approves four new railway lines for Odisha, check full details

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved as many as four new railway lines for Odisha, informed Railway Minster Ashwini Vaishnaw today.

According to the Railway Minister, the new four new railway lines that got the Cabinet nod are – Gunupur – Therubali (New Line) of 73.62 kms covering Rayagada district, Junagarh – Nabrangpur of 116.21 kms covering Kalahandi and Nabrangpur districts, Bangriposi – Gorumahisani of 85.60 kms covering Mayurbhanj district and Malkangiri- Pandurangapuram (via Bhadrachalam) of 173.61 kms covering Malkangiri, East Godavari & Bhadradri Kothagudem.

Know more about the new railway lines:

Gunupur – Therubali new line (74 km):

• Importance of Eastern India: प्रधा नमंत्री जी का ज़न है पूर्वो दय से देश उदय
• Naupada station is situated on Howrah – Chennai main line. Naupada – Gunupur is a dead-end line.
• ‘Connecting the Unconnected’- KBK Region: Connecting the tribal & backward areas with the mainstream: ‘सबका सा थ, सबका का स’ + जनजा ती य सश करण
• KBK region connectivity: Extension of Naupada-Gunupur line up to Therubali will provide direct and shorter connectivity (96 km shorter) for tribal dominated districts of Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur and Kandhamal with Kolkata – Chennai main route.
• Rice producing area of Odisha and Chhattisgarh: Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi (Odisha) Mahasamund and Raipur (Chhattisgarh) will have wider market and will have faster access of Gopalpur, Bhavanapadu ports.
• South Odisha to Western Odisha Connectivity: It will connect important towns Paralakhemundi, Kashinagar and Gunupur in South Odisha to important towns like Bhawanipatnam, Titlagarh, Bolangir, Sambalpur and Rourkela in western Odisha.
• Bauxite region connectivity:
• There is huge Aluminium manufacturing potential in the region. This line will provide port connectivity of this region to Gopalpur, Bhavanapadu, Paradeep, Dhamara and Haldia port.
• It will provide boost to agro-based industries & eco-tourism: New market connectivity for Koraput coffee & Dongria kondh shawls.
• Gunupur subdivision will have rail connectivity to it’s district town Raygada. Earlier it was connected via Vizianagaram having 331 km now will be only 100km.
• Estimated Completion Cost : ₹ 1,326 crore
• Employment generation: 25 lakh man-days.
• Land acquisition required: 474 Ha
• Double engine Sarkar: The Govt. of Odisha has committed to provide land free of cost.
• CO2 emissions saved: 92 cr Kg equivalent to 3.7 cr trees

Junagarh – Nabarangpur- Jeypore- Malkangiri- Bhadrachalam-Pandurangapuram:

• Connectivity to Tribal districts: Tribal and Aspirational districts of Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri districts were affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the past. Now economic activities have started and peace is being restored in these districts.
• Nabarangpur- Jeypore- Malkangiri new line project (170 km) sanctioned in 2017-18. To provide complete connectivity to the above region, Junagarh- Nabarangpur (116 km) and Malkangiri- Bhadrachalam- Pandurangapuram new line (174 km) are sanctioned now.
• New rail corridor parallel to eastern coast of India:
  1. This will give additional rail route to coastal movement. Existing : Vijaywada – Vishkapatnam- Bhuwaneshwar- Culcatta
  2. New: Warangal – Bhadrachalam- Malkangiri- Jaypore- Titlagarh – Sambhalpur – Rourkela – Tata- Asansol
• This corridor will provide connectivity to Southern india from western & southern Odisha & Chhattisgarh areas.
• This new line corridor will lead to socio-economic development of the above districts of Odisha and East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) & Bhadadri Kothagudem (Telangana).
• This corridor will provide shorter connectivity to Power Plants situated in central & south India from Mahanadi coalfield areas.
• Disaster Management- Back-up Route: This new line will provide connectivity to various districts of Odisha even during Cyclones which affect connectivity in the coastal areas. (Howrah – Vijayawada coastal route)
• Easier accessibility of food grains, fertilizers, agricultural products, cement to this region.
• Distance from Southern Odisha and Bastar region to South India will reduce by 124 km and will also bypass busy corridors like Rajamundary & Vishakhapatanam
• Estimated Completion Cost: ₹ 7,383 crore.
• Employment generation: 1 crore man-days.
• Land to be acquired: 1697 Ha.
• CO2 emissions saved: 267 cr Kg equivalent to 10.7 cr trees

Bikramshila – Katareah new line (26 km):

• Bikramshila station is located on the Bhagalpur – Sahibganj line and Katareah station is located on Katihar – Barauni line.
• The river Ganga flows through Bihar for approximately 450 km, from Buxar to Rajmahal. There are only three rail bridges across River Ganga which are saturated.
• This new line project will improve mobility of North Bihar, West Bengal, Northeast region to and South Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha by construction of an additional mega bridge across Ganga.
• Providing shorter and effective mode of transport to evacuate coal from eastern coalfields in Rajmahal district.
• Main Bridge length: 2.44 Km (Span of Bridge: 1 x 32.60 m + 19 x 125m + 1 x 32.60m )
• Estimated Completion Cost : ₹ 2,549 crore
• Employment generation –22 lakh man-days.
• Land to be acquired: 194 Ha
• CO2 emissions saved: 95 cr Kg equivalent to 3.8cr trees

Connectivity of Mayurbhanj-Keonjhar (Odisha), East Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Jhargram (West Bengal) region to other parts of the country:

Badampahar – Kendujhargarh new line (82 km)

Bangriposi – Gorumahisani new line (86 km)

Buramara – Chakulia New line (60 km)

• Mayurbhanj is tribal dominated and largest district of Odisha
• North & Central India Connectivity: New route for traffic from East coast towards Northern India avoiding the congested Rupsa-Kharagpur-Tata nagar route. (Howrah – Mumbai HDN & Howrah – Chennai HDN route).
• Capital & Shreekshetra Puri Connectivity: The Project will provide connectivity from Badampahar & Rairangpur area to Cuttack-Bhubaneswar-Puri via Keonjhar.
• Connectivity from North Odisha to Western Odisha: North Odisha (Balasore, Betnoti, Baripada, Buramara, Bangriposi,Rairangpur, Gorumahisani) will be directly connected to western Odisha (Rourkela, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur) via Tatanagar.
• It will reduce the distance between Tatanagar and Keonjhar by 52 km, reducing the travel distance between Jakhapura (Kalinganagar industrial corridor) and Tatanagar industrial corridor.
• Port Connectivity: It will reduce the distance between Tatanagar and Paradip & other east-coast ports.
• Nature & wildlife Tourism: Mayurbhanj has been listed by TIME Magazine among the 50 extraordinary destinations to explore in its list of the World’s Greatest Places of 2023. Only 2 destinations of India included (Ladakh & Mayurbhanj).
• UNESCO Similipal Biosphere Reserve (World famous Similipal Tiger Reserve).
• State / District– Odisha (Mayurbhanj & Keonjhar), Jharkhand (East Singhbhum), West Bengal (Jhargram)
• Estimated Completion Cost: ₹ 6294 crore.
• Employment generation: 76 lakh man-days.
• Land to be acquired: 1819 Ha. Govt. Of Odisha has committed to provide land free of cost: Double Engine Sarkar
• CO2 emissions saved: 259 cr Kg equivalent to 10.3 cr trees

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