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Cabinet clears Rs 9450 crore railway lines in four states
The Hindu··20 Aug
On 19 August 2026, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved four Railway Ministry multitracking projects at about Rs 9,450 crore. The lines cover 410 km across eight districts in West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Completion is listed for 2030-31 under the PM Gati Shakti plan. The work is meant to ease Howrah-Chennai congestion.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you travel or ship goods on the Howrah-Chennai belt, the Cabinet listed extra tracks on Kharagpur-Bhadrak, Bhadrak-Haridaspur, Gummidipundi-Gudur and Cuttack-Paradeep, with a 2030-31 finish date.
- Anyone living in the eight listed districts can note the ministry's figure of about 6,448 villages and a 60 lakh combined population along the new capacity.
- If you follow Bihar roads, the same sitting approved four-laning of the Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa stretch of NH-22 at Rs 3,591 crore.
What's Happening
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs that cleared the four railway projects on 19 August.
- Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Kharagpur-Bhadrak coastal fourth line would include two mega bridges, 41 major bridges and 169 minor bridges.
- Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi wrote to the Railways Minister thanking the Centre for the Odisha stretches in the package.
Why These Four Corridors Were Bundled Together
- The four lines sit on the high-density Howrah-Chennai route and the Cuttack-Paradeep port feeder, which the ministry said were congested for both passengers and freight.
- The extra 76 million tonnes a year is the official freight increment cited for coal, iron ore, cement, steel, containers, automobiles and foodgrains.
- The projects are recorded as PM Gati Shakti works, meaning they were planned with other transport modes rather than as standalone railway sanctions.
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