Cabinet approves ₹107.83 billion railway projects to boost freight

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 9 September, 2026 approved three railway multitracking projects worth a combined ₹107.83 billion, expected to add 27 million tonnes per annum of additional freight traffic once completed by 2029-30.

The three projects are the Kharagpur-Jharsuguda (Bagdehi) fourth line, the Katni-Pendra Road fourth line, and the Bilaspur (Uslapur)-Pendra Road third line, spanning 14 districts across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and adding around 656 kilometres to Indian Railways' existing network.

The government said these routes are essential freight corridors for commodities including coal, cement, and iron and steel, and that the added line capacity is intended to ease congestion and improve operational efficiency and service reliability for freight movement, alongside passenger services. The projects have been planned under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, with an emphasis on multi-modal connectivity and logistics efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultation.

Beyond freight capacity, the government linked the projects to its climate and logistics-cost goals, citing an expected reduction in oil imports of about 120 million litres and CO2 emissions of around 620 million kilogrammes, a figure it said is equivalent to planting 24.8 million trees, given rail's relative efficiency as a freight mode compared with road transport.

The multitracking work is also expected to improve connectivity to approximately 4,790 villages with a combined population of around 5.6 million, and to several tourist sites including the Taratarini Temple, Shri Khetra Jagannath Temple near Jharsuguda, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Virateshwar Temple, Amarkantak Temple, Jwaleshwar Dham, Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, Khutaghat Dam, the Malhar archaeological site and Ratanpur Mahamaya Temple.