Railways Get a Boost as Cabinet Approves Rs 6,798 Crore Worth Project for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar

The Union Cabinet greenlit two railway projects totaling Rs 6,798 crore on Thursday. These include a 57-km line to link Andhra Pradesh's upcoming capital, Amravati and the expansion of a section in northern Bihar.

While the recent projects are seen as a positive step taken for the enhancement of India's infrastructure space, it is worth pointing out that both Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are presently part of the ruling alliance led by BJP.

"To provide connectivity to Amravati, a new 57-km-long line worth Rs 2,245 crore will be constructed. For this, a 3.2-km-long new bridge will be constructed on the Krishna river which will be among longest bridges of the Indian Railway," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a release. The project is expected to cost Rs 2,245 crore and provide 1.9 million human days of employment.

The new rail line will connect around 168 villages and a population of nearly 1.2 million. As for the northern Bihar rail corridor, it is expected to be a "multi-tracking project (which) will enhance connectivity to two aspirational districts of Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur”, the statement said.

The corridor will serve over 380 villages with a “cumulative population of nine lakh,” the statement added.

The government is also planning to schedule 136 extra trains alongside special arrangements at multiple stations. This is being done to meet the massive travel demand during the festival season, especially as Diwali approaches.

The green effort

Both the projects proposed by the ministry will follow environmentally-friendly implementation, as per the Ministry. Ashwini Vaishnaw also stated that the initiatives are expected to reduce CO2 emissions by around 168 crore kilograms. This is equivalent to the plantation of 70 million trees.

He also emphasised that "the Railways, as an environment-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, will play a crucial role in achieving the country’s climate goals while significantly reducing logistics costs."

The project is also expected to create job opportunities at a large scale. As per the release, the proposed plane will create around 106 lakh human days of direct employment.