New Delhi, September 18: Indian Railways has approved two rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra with a combined investment of ₹990 crore, covering the doubling of the Chouk-Karjat section and the construction of a new rail line between Mukutban and Gadchandur.
Together, the two projects cover 49.07 km of rail infrastructure and are aimed at increasing passenger and freight capacity, improving connectivity to industrial and mining centres, and easing pressure on existing railway corridors.
Indian Railways has approved ₹497 crore for the doubling of the 10.86-km Chouk-Karjat section of Central Railway. The stretch forms part of the Panvel-Chouk-Karjat route and currently operates as a single-line section.
The project has been sanctioned under the umbrella works covering doubling, tripling, quadrupling, flyover and bypass projects aimed at increasing railway network capacity.
Once completed, the Chouk-Karjat doubling is expected to facilitate five additional passenger trains in each direction every day and support an additional 18.35 million tonnes of freight traffic per annum. It is also expected to reduce the detention of freight trains on the route.
Separately, Indian Railways has approved ₹493 crore for the construction of a 38.21-km new rail line between Mukutban (Adilabad) and Gadchandur under South Central Railway.
Mukutban in Yavatmal district and Gadchandur in Chandrapur district serve industrial and mining clusters that include cement plants, coal mines operated by Western Coalfields Ltd and nearby limestone mines.
The new rail line is expected to provide a shorter route for freight movement, reducing travel distance, transportation time and associated costs, while also offering an alternative to the existing Wardha-Manikgarh section.
According to the Detailed Project Report, the Mukutban-Gadchandur line is expected to support 6.08 MTPA of freight traffic and two MEMU trains in each direction per day after commissioning.
Freight expected to move through the corridor includes coal and coke, cement, sponge iron, metal scrap, iron and steel, fertilisers and foodgrains.
The project will also provide direct connectivity between the coal and cement cluster and the Majri-Nanded route, creating shorter leads for coal, cement and RMSP traffic towards Jalna, Parbhani, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and other destinations in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Indian Railways said the new corridor will also reduce dependence on the congested Balharshah-Nagpur High-Density Network route while improving rail connectivity in relatively less-connected parts of Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts.
Both projects are expected to strengthen passenger and freight movement in Maharashtra while adding capacity to railway corridors serving industrial, mining and regional traffic.
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