Kumar Bahukhandi
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav giving information about cabinet decisions – Photo: ANI
*Many big decisions were taken in the Union Cabinet meeting today.
*Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav gave information about the decisions.
*4 projects of Railway Ministry approved.
*Total cost Rs 18,658 crore.
*15 districts of Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh will get benefit.
Union Railway and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav gave information about the decisions taken in the Union Cabinet. He said that 4 projects of the Railway Ministry have been approved. Their total cost is Rs 18,658 crore. The projects covering 15 districts of Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 1247 km.
These are included in the four projects of the Railway Ministry
Union Minister Vaishnav held a press conference on Friday April4, 2025 . During this, he said that the projects include Sambalpur-Jarapada third and fourth line, Jharsuguda-Sasan third and fourth line, Kharsia-Naya Raipur-Parmalkasa fifth and sixth line and Gondia-Balharshah doubling.
Multi-tracking proposal will facilitate rail operations
Minister Vaishnav said that the railway line expansion will improve mobility. This will provide better efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. He said that these multi-tracking proposals will facilitate rail operations and reduce congestion.
19 new railway stations will be constructed
The Railway Minister said that 19 new stations will also be constructed. The construction of stations will increase connectivity to Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh. He said that increased connectivity will benefit about 3350 villages and about 47.25 lakh people.
There will be additional freight traffic of 88.77 MTPA
According to the Railway Minister, due to the projects, new areas like Kharsia-Naya Raipur-Parmalkasa Baloda Bazar will be able to get direct rail connectivity. The benefit of this will be that there will be possibilities of setting up new industrial units including cement plants in this area. These routes are essential for the transportation of goods like agricultural products, fertilizers, coal, iron ore, steel, cement, limestone. Due to capacity increase, there will be additional freight traffic of 88.77 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
Railways are an efficient means of transport
Minister Vaishnav said that railways are an efficient means of transport that is environment friendly and saves energy. It will help in achieving climate goals, reducing the country’s logistics cost, reducing oil imports (95 crore liters) and reducing CO2 emissions (477 crore kg), which is equivalent to planting 19 crore trees.
