The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the New Railway Line Project under the Ministry of Railways at a total cost of        Rs 18,036 crore . The proposed new line between Indore and Manmad will provide direct connectivity and improve mobility, thereby ensuring better efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways.

The project is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a New India, which will make people "Aatmanirbhar" through comprehensive development in the sector, thereby increasing employment/self-employment opportunities for them.

The project is an outcome of PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Connectivity, made possible through integrated planning and will provide seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services.

The project will cover 6 districts of 2 states, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, adding about 309 km to the existing network of Indian Railways.

Thirty new stations will be constructed with this project, providing better connectivity to the aspirational district of Barwani. The new railway line project will provide connectivity to about 1,000 villages and a population of about 30 lakh.

The project will boost tourism in the region by providing a shorter route connecting the western/south-western part of the country with central India. This will increase the footfall of tourists to various tourist/religious places in the Ujjain-Indore region including the Shri Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple.

The project will provide direct connectivity to the Pithampur auto cluster (90 large units and 700 small and medium industries) to the Gateway Port of JNPA and other state ports. The project will also provide direct connectivity to the millet producing districts of Madhya Pradesh and onion producing districts of Maharashtra, facilitating its distribution in the northern and southern parts of the country.

It is an essential route for transportation of commodities like agricultural produce, fertilizers, containers, iron ore, steel, cement, POL, etc.