New Delhi: Indian Railways has approved a ₹976 crore multitracking project for the 29-km Danapur-Fatuha section of East Central Railway in Bihar.
The project, announced on 1 August 2026, is aimed at easing congestion on the busy rail corridor around Patna and creating additional capacity for passenger and freight train operations.
The sanctioned work includes the construction of third and fourth railway lines between Danapur and Patna, a third line between Rajendra Nagar and Patna Saheb, and third and fourth lines between Patna Saheb and Fatuha.
According to the Ministry of Railways, the additional tracks will improve operational flexibility and help accommodate growing rail traffic across the Patna region.
The project is expected to create capacity for 22 additional passenger trains and 18 additional freight trains every day during its first year of operation.
The expanded section will also be able to handle an additional 5.2 million tonnes of freight traffic annually.
The Danapur-Fatuha project forms part of the wider quadrupling programme covering the Delhi-Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction-Patna-Kiul-Bhagalpur-Khana-Howrah route.
The route has been identified under Indian Railways’ Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor programme, which focuses on increasing capacity for the movement of coal, minerals, cement and other bulk commodities.
The strengthened rail section will also support the movement of bulk inputs for the 1,320 MW Buxar Thermal Power Project at Chausa in Bihar’s Buxar district.
The thermal power project comprises two units of 660 MW each. Its first unit began commercial operations on 14 November 2025, while work on the second unit is continuing.
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