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At least 1.24 lakh trees are likely to be felled on a section passing through dense forests to clear the way for the construction of the railway's Mhow-Khandwa gauge conversion project in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday. Under this crucial project, the railway's historic narrow-gauge line is being converted into a broad-gauge line, they said. The new railway line will reduce the distance between Indore, the economic capital of Madhya Pradesh, and Mumbai, the country's financial capital, and will also strengthen western MP's connectivity with south India, the officials said. Environmentalists have warned of the adverse impact of tree felling for the railway line, even as the forest department said it has prepared a detailed mitigation plan. "As many as 1.41 lakh trees are estimated to be affected in the dense forests of Indore and Khargone districts for the construction of the Mhow-Sanawad section of the railway's Mhow-Khandwa gauge conversion project," Indore's Division
The Railway Ministry has permanently closed its ambitious project for the conversion of the Mathura-Vrindavan railway line from metre gauge to broad gauge at an estimated cost of Rs 402 crore, terming it "uneconomical". The North Central Railway (NCR) zone, which has jurisdiction over the Mathura-Virndavan section, had mooted a proposal a few months ago to terminate it permanently due to opposition from locals. "The Proposal of North Central Railway regarding closure of the aforementioned uneconomical branch line of North Central Railway has been examined by the (Railway) Board. Accordingly, Competent Authority has approved permanent closure of Mathura Vrindavan section of Agra Division of North Central Railway," the Railway Ministry said in a letter dated June 6, addressed to the General Manager of the NCR zone. It further said the decision has been taken with the concurrence of the Finance Directorate of the Ministry of Railways and asked the zone to initiate necessary ...
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday that the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) will not be shifted for the upcoming Pune-Nashik rail project. He said the only alternative is to change the railway project alignment. GMRT is located in Khodad village near Narayangaon, around 60 km from Pune, off the Pune-Nashik Highway. Researchers have expressed apprehensions over the likely disruption of the scientific facility's operations after the Pune-Nashik semi-high-sped rail project was given in-principle approval by the Centre. NCP (SP) MP Amol Kolhe recently proposed GMRT's relocation to facilitate the project. "GMRT, located between Nashik and Pune, was a challenge for the project. It's not the telescope for India, but it also belongs to 23 countries. We will have to make all these countries agree to shift telescopes. "Shifting means weakening the most powerful facility of scientific research in India. That is why we decided not to shift GMRT from its current locatio
The Hajipur-Sagauli New Line project, sanctioned in 2003-04 at an estimated cost of Rs 24.66 crore, registered a huge cost escalation of Rs 2,066.78 crore in January 2019 due to indecisiveness of the Railway Administration, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. Tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the report titled 'Loss due to indecision of Railway Administration in the matter of land acquisition: East Central Railway' was based on one of the findings of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report of 2021. After carrying out a detailed examination, the PAC observed that the railways' lack of prudent decision-making and timely payments resulted in avoidable extra expenditure, underscoring the importance of meticulous financial planning and adherence to land acquisition policies. "The Hajipur-Sagauli New Line project, sanctioned by the Ministry of Railways in 2003-04, underwent a series of financial oversights and lapses in land acquisition processes, leading to
Of the 14 rail projects taken up for implementation to boost coal evacuation, five have already been commissioned and the remaining are at different stages of construction, Parliament was informed on Monday. In addition, coastal shipping and inland waterways are also being promoted for evacuation of coal, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Replying to a query, Joshi said, "14 rail projects have been taken up for implementation for improving coal evacuation... Of these, five rail lines have already been commissioned and others are at various stages of construction." "In addition to the above, the Ministry of Railways has planned several rail projects under Green Energy Corridor Projects, High-density Network Projects and Rail Sagar Projects," the minister said. The coal ministry recently launched a coal logistics policy and integrated coal evacuation plan to address the issue of coal transportation amidst rising demands.
The Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project on Saturday got a major thrust when a loan agreement was signed with KfW Development Bank, Germany, by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE) in New Delhi on December 15. As per the agreement, KfW Development Bank will provide Euro 500 million (Rs 4,552 crore) and a grant of Euro 4.5 million (Rs 41 crore) for the BSRP. The loan agreement is meant for Corridor-1 from Bengaluru City Railway Station to Devanahalli and Corridor-3 from Kengeri to Whitefield. K-RIDE said in a statement that the agreement was signed in the presence of senior officials from the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and the Government of Karnataka, and KfW officials. "The loan was signed for Euro 500 million (Rs 4,552 crore) and a grant of Euro 4.5 million (Rs 41 crore). The signing of this loan agreement will facilitate invitation of Corridor-1, Corridor-3 and system tenders and further expedite progress
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina will jointly inaugurate a key cross-border railway project on Wednesday, officials said. The prime ministers of the two neighbouring countries will launch the Agartala-Akhaura Cross Border Rail Link Project at 11 am in a virtual ceremony, they said. The 15-km rail link (5 km in India and 10 km in Bangladesh) will boost cross-border trade and significantly reduce the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka, the officials said. The trial run of the project will take place at 12 pm on Monday. It encompasses one major bridge and three minor bridges. At present, it takes about 31 hours to reach Kolkata from Agartala by train, which will be reduced to just 10 hours, an official said. The Indian Railways had allocated Rs 153.84 crore from its budget to expedite the project work, he added.
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