The Central Government accorded approval to the third railway line between Rajnandgaon and Kalumna following accelerated industrial and mining developments in the region, officials informed.
The decision to approve the line was also prompted by coal traffic generating from IB valley, Korba area and East Corridor which would be channelized by the third line through this route to their respective destinations.
Notably, the Rajnandgaon-Kalumna line forms a part of Howrah-Mumbai trunk route serving freight and passenger traffic from Eastern and Southern regions to Northern and Western regions and vice versa over the country.
For the East Corridor, the Chhattisgarh government has decided to allocate 14 acres of land in Raigarh district. The Corridor will be about 180 km long from Bhupdevpur-Gharghoda-Dharamjaigarh up to Korba. 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 East West Corridor.
The work is being undertaken in Gevra Road-Pendra Road and Dipka, Kathghora, Sendurgahr and Pasan sections, officials stated.
Notably, the development of two key Rail corridors in mineral-rich Chhattisgarh is now set to expand the Railway line network by 45 per cent in the State, officials stated.
The completion of Dallirajhara-Rowghat-Jagdalpur, East and East-West Rail corridor projects will comprise a total of 535 kilometers Railway-line during the next two to four years, they stated.
The East West Rail Corridor project is expected to get completed in 2018-19. The corridor is to facilitate movement of about 60 million tonnes of coal to various parts of the country apart from providing passenger train facility for the local populace of the region.
The length of the rail track would be 135.30 kms.The Chhattisgarh East West Railway ltd is the implementing agency for the project.