Bypass route: How Railways will get back Rs 27.5 bn lost due to Jharia fire

The existing line that was running through the Jharia coalfields area was under threat of caving in due to an underground fire

To bring back its lost coal freight revenue, the ministry of railways has come out with a master plan to have a bypass rail route near the 35-kilometre line between Chandrapura and Dhanbad that was closed due to coal fire at Jharia coalfields in June. The new extension will be funded by state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL), the holding company of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) that operates the Jharia mines. 

The sudden closure of the line had wiped out more than Rs 27.5 billion of Railways revenue per annum. The Railways' engineering arm RITES is preparing a detailed project report