The railway track development in the Bhupdevpur-Gharghoda-Dharamjaygarh section under East Rail Corridor Project is expected to get complete by December 31, 2018, officials informed.
Notably, the Centre has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) each with the States of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh for critical coal connectivity projects to improve transportation .
Agreement for World Bank loan of US $ 1100 million for Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) (Phase-2) have also been signed, they stated.
Freight train with speed of maximum 100 kms per hour will pass through Chhattisgarh in the East-West Corridor (Kolkata-Mumbai).
The train will traverse through the States of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra as the Ministry of Railways has sanctioned implementation of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) with freight train speeds of maximum 100 Kmph.
The Central government’s approval for construction of 165 km long third railway line between Anuppur and Katni in Madhya Pradesh is expected to facilitate additional coal transportation traffic from parts of Chhattisgarh.
The coal transporation traffic from IB valley, Korba area, East Corridor and Gevra - Pendra Road Project in Chhattisgarh would be channelized through the aforesaid route to the respective destinations, officials stated.
The Centre has approved the project at a cost of Rs 1595.76 crore. The project is likely to be completed in 5 ¼ years spanning over 12th and 13th plan period.
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved construction of six Railway lines and a Railway bridge to cater to both increased passenger and freight needs in various areas of the country.
Public sector IRCON International ltd has also commenced work in connection with the construction of new ‘Broad Guage Electrified Double Railway line’ in Chhattisgarh on the EastWest Corridor.
The work is being undertaken in Gevra Road-Pendra Road and Dipka, Kathghora, Sendurgahr and Pasan sections, officials stated.
The Union Ministry of Railways has set track renewal target of 551 kms for South East CentralRailway (SECR) division during the 12th plan period.
Track renewal is an ongoing process which is undertaken as and when a stretch of track becomes due for renewal on age-cum-condition basis, officials informed.
Track Renewal works are planned in advance every year and their execution is prioritized according to the condition of track and overall availability of funds ensuring all the time that track is in a sound condition for safe running of trains.
In case, if any stretch of track is not renewed in time due to various reasons including scarcity of funds, material etc., suitable speed restrictions are imposed to ensure safe running of trains.
As on March 31, 2016, track renewal covering 5900 km of track renewal have been sanctioned, out of which 2668 km is targetted for the year 2016-17.
As per norms, track renewal works are to be completed within two to three years of sanction. This, however, also depends on budget availability, officials stated.
The total Budget outlay in year 2016-17 has been enhanced from Rs 4000 crores to Rs. 7500 crores to speed up the track renewal works in the country. Accordingly, physical targets have also been increased from 1500 km to 2668 km.
There are a total of 840 farmers in Chhattisgarh whose land had been acquired for the Dallirajahara-Rowghat rail line project, the Central government has informed.
It may be recalled that Chhattisgarh government would also be earmarking suitable land banks in the vicinity of Dallirajahara-Rowghat-Jagdalpur Rail Corridor for setting up of small industrial units, officials informed.
Notably, the Steel Authority of India ltd (SAIl) is co-ordinating the construction of Railay line from DaIlirajhara to Rowghat covering a distance of 95 km with Indian Railways in Chhattisgarh.
The project for doubling of Railway line between Kirandul and Jagdalpur in Chhatisgarh’s insurgency ridden Bastar region is expected to be complete by January 2019, official sources informed.