The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved eight railway multitracking projects worth more than ₹20,800 crore across nine states. The projects, covering around 1,196 kilometres, are aimed at easing congestion, improving rail connectivity and facilitating faster movement of passengers and freight.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the decisions at a media briefing in New Delhi on Wednesday. He said the projects are targeted for completion by 2029-30.
Five of the approved projects will cover around 540 kilometres across 17 districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, at an estimated cost of over ₹10,021 crore.
The projects include the construction of third and fourth lines between Arakkonam and Renigunta, third and fourth lines between Whitefield and Bangarapet, and doubling of the Hosur-Omalur railway line. These projects are expected to improve connectivity to around 2,100 villages, benefiting a combined population of nearly 52 lakh.
The Cabinet has also approved three multitracking projects worth more than ₹10,700 crore across 14 districts in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Together, they will add around 656 kilometres to the existing railway network.
These projects include a fourth line between Kharagpur and Jharsuguda, a fourth line between Katni and Pendra Road, and a third line between Bilaspur and Pendra Road.
Vaishnaw said the increased line capacity would significantly improve mobility, operational efficiency and service reliability across the Indian Railways network. The projects are also expected to streamline train operations and reduce congestion on busy routes.
The government has further decided to undertake four-laning and quadrupling of all seven high-density railway corridors, covering around 11,000 kilometres. These include the four arms of the Golden Quadrilateral—Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Chennai, Chennai-Kolkata and Kolkata-Delhi—as well as the diagonals Delhi-Chennai, Mumbai-Kolkata and Delhi-Guwahati.
Around 2,000 kilometres of these corridors has already been four-laned.
On the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project, Vaishnaw said the service is expected to commence next year. He said construction work is progressing rapidly and that the initial 100-kilometre section between Surat and Vapi in Gujarat is expected to be opened first.
