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Indian Railways has approved the 6 km Barbil-Bolanikhadan Doubling Project of South Eastern Railway at a completion cost of Rs 122 crore, strengthening rail infrastructure on an important mineral movement corridor.
According to the release, the project will facilitate additional freight traffic of 8.9 MTPA on this stretch after commissioning of the project. The doubling will also help reduce delays to freight trains. The Barbil-Bolanikhadan section has been identified under the Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor of Indian Railways. The existing section is a single-line section and currently carries about 9 MTPA, comprising about 6 loaded rakes per day of originating iron ore traffic. The traffic is entirely for high-grade ore and pellets moving from SAILs Bolani mines and private sidings (Rungta, Khatau Narbheram) to major steel plants and ports. Doubling this 6 km stretch, ahead of the full realisation of SAILs mine expansion and port/plant capacity additions, will help to prevent capacity constraints in the designated mineral corridor. The approved work will support the growing freight requirements, improve rail connectivity for the movement of iron ore to steel plants and ports, and strengthen rail capacity as mining, industrial and port activities expand in the region. It will also strengthen the Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor and support smoother movement of freight on this important route. Earlier on Thursday, Indian Railways approved the construction of a four-lane Road Over Bridge (ROB) at Alkapuri in Vadodara Division of Western Railway at a total cost of Rs 166.5 crore, on a cost-sharing basis with the state government. The total project cost will be shared equally between Indian Railways and the state government. The Railway share will be approximately Rs 83.2769 crore, while the state government share will also be approximately Rs 83.2769 crore. The existing Alkapuri Road Under Bridge (RUB) near Vadodara Railway Station serves as an important east-west road connectivity link between the Alkapuri and Kalaghoda areas of Vadodara city. However, the existing RUB has a vertical clearance of only about 3.0 metres, resulting in restrictions on the movement of larger vehicles and recurring waterlogging during the monsoon. (ANI)
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