The Chhattisgarh East-West Rail Corridor project is expected to be complete by 2020, officials informed.
The proposed track from Gevra Road to Pendra via Dipka, Katghora, Sindurgarh and Pasan has a length of 135 km, Urga- Kusmunda has a length of about 16 km and Feeder lines of about 35 km. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 4970 crore.
Notably, freight train with speed of maximum 100 kms per hour will pass through Chhattisgarh in the East-West Corridor (Kolkata-Mumbai).
The train will traverse through the States of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra as the Ministry of Railways has sanctioned implementation of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) with freight train speeds of maximum 100 Kmph.
Development of two key Rail corridors in mineral-rich Chhattisgarh is now set to expand the Railway line network by 45 per cent in the State, officials stated.
The completion of 235-km Dallirajhara-Rowghat-Jagdalpur, East and East-West Rail corridor (300 km) projects will comprise a total of 535 kilometers Railway-line during the next two to four years, they stated.
The South East Central Sector which includes Chhattisgarh is set to play a key role in Central Government’s ambitious coal loading and transportation plans.
Coal India ltd is targeting production of 1 billion tonnes of coal by 2020. Wagon availability will be a key factor for achieving this target by Coal India ltd. By signing of the MoU, the Railways and Coal India ltd will be entering into a strategic partnership which would ensure adequate wagon availability for meeting the transportation needs of coal produced by Coal India ltd. Notably, the Central Government has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding each with the states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh for critical coal connectivity projects to improve transportation of coal, officials informed.
Agreement for World Bank loan of US $ 1100 million for Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) (Phase-2) have also been signed, they stated.
