3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 19, 2026 07:32 PM IST
The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved fours railways multi-tracking and one four lane highway project at a cost of Rs 13041 crore.
The multi-tracking railway projects have been approved to decongest Howrah-Chennai high density route. These are 173-km Kharagpur-Bhadrak (Ranital) 4th Line in West Bengal and Odisha, 75-km Bhadrak-Haridaspur 4th Line, 90-km Gummidipundi-Gudur 3rd and 4th Line in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and 72-km Cuttack-Paradeep (Badabandha) 3rd and 4th line in Odisha. These four projects together will cost around Rs 9,450 crore.
The Cabinet also approved development of 4-lane brownfield
Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa Corridor (NH-22) in Bihar worth Rs 3,591 crore. This is expected to reduce the current travel time between Muzaffarpur to Sonbarsa from two hours to one.
Story continues below this ad
Kharagpur-Ranital railway line is one of the main corridors connecting eastern and southern India. It carries long distance passengers and freight traffic. Officials said the section is projected to remain saturated even after the commissioning of the third line, which has necessitated the construction of the fourth line as well.
The project links to the steel hubs at Jakhapura, Tatanagar and Durgapur with Paradip and Dhamra Ports for efficient movement of raw materials and finished goods.
Similarly, the existing Bhadrak-Haridaspur line is nearing saturation at 91% and further saturation expected from projected port and steel plant demand.
The Gummidipundi-Gudur section is an existing double line forming part of both the Delhi-Chennai and Howrah-Chennai High Density Network (HDN) routes. The section falls under the Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) and forms a key part of the planned East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), India’s first coastal corridor. The line capacity utilization is expected to reach 131%.
Story continues below this ad
The fourth project, Cuttack-Badabandha, is a strategic corridor and part of the Jharsuguda-Cuttack-Paradeep Highly Utilised Network (HUN). It connects Paradeep Port to key hinterland areas of major steel clusters, iron ore mines and coal fields.
Officials said the existing section is saturated at up to 101% utilisation, and is projected to rise further to 177%.
The multi-tracking works will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 410 km and result in additional freight traffic by 76 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), said the Railways.
