Cabinet OKs INR 94.5 bln for railway multitracking along East-South coast
This story was originally published at 15:54 IST on 19 August 2026
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--Cabinet OKs INR 33.52 bln for Kharagpur-Bhadrak fourth line
--Cabinet OKs INR 15.83 bln for Bhadrak-Haridaspur fourth line
--Cabinet OKs INR 22.29 bln for Gummidipundi-Gudur third, fourth lines
--Cabinet OKs INR 22.86 bln for Cuttack-Paradeep third, fourth lines
NEW DELHI – The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved INR 94.50 billion for four multitracking railway projects spanning four states to boost connectivity along the Eastern and Southern coast of the country on the Howrah-Chennai High Density Route corridor. These projects will help address passenger traffic as well as goods movement and are scheduled for completion by 2030–31 (Apr-Mar), the government said.
The Kharagpur-Bhadrak corridor is the main corridor linking Eastern and Southern India and carries long-distance express and freight traffic. The Cabinet approved INR 33.52 billion for a fourth line in this corridor, which will help link steel hubs at Jakhapura, Tatanagar, and Durgapur with Paradeep and Dhamra ports for efficient movement of raw materials and finished goods, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw said.
The Cabinet approved INR 15.83 billion for a fourth line in the Bhadrak-Haridaspur route, the two key junctions connecting Dhamra and Paradeep ports. This will facilitate rail-sea-rail coal movement from Mahanadi Coalfields via Dhamra and Paradeep ports to power plants in Southern India, Vaishnaw said. It will help logistics cost savings of INR 4.33 billion every year.
The third project Gummipundi-Gudur route falls under the Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor and forms a key part of the planned East Coast Economic Corridor, which is India's first coastal corridor. The Cabinet approved INR 22.29 billion for this section, which will have a total length of 90 kilometres.
The final railway project approved Wednesday will be in the Cuttack-Paradeep section, with a total outlay of INR 22.86 billion. It connects Paradeep port to key hinterland areas of Odisha such as major steel cluster Kalinganagar, iron ore mines in Keonjhar, and coal fields in Talcher. It is an important route for the import of raw materials for steel plants located in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, Vaishnaw said. It will be important for moving domestic and export-import cargo between Paradeep port, Paradeep Phosphate Ltd., Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd., Paradeep refinery and hinterland industrial and mining units, he added. End
Reported by Priyasmita Dutta
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
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