The government has cleared eight railway multitracking projects involving an investment of over 20 thousand 800 crore rupees. The projects are aimed at increasing line capacity, improving operational efficiency and easing congestion on key routes.

Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting yesterday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, three projects, costing over 10 thousand 783 crore rupees, will cover 14 districts across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, adding about 656 kilometres to the existing railway network. These include the Kharagpur-Jharsuguda fourth line, Katni-Pendra Road fourth line and Bilaspur-Pendra Road third line. They are planned for completion by 2029-30.

The other five projects, at the cost of nearly 10 thousand 21 crore rupees, will cover 17 districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, adding about 540 kilometres to the network. These include the Arakkonam-Renigunta third and fourth lines, Whitefield-Bangarapet third and fourth lines, and doubling of the Hosur-Omalur line.