The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Friday approved the third and fourth lines for Ballari-Guntakal section in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs. $Rs 1,264 crore, an official statement said.
The 46-km multi-track project spans three zones across the two states and aims to ease congestion while enhancing operational efficiency and service reliability of the railways.
“The capacity enhancement will improve rail connectivity to several prominent tourist destinations across the country, including Ballari Fort and Sri Kumara Swamy Temple,” the statement said.
“The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight movement of 16.22 million tonnes per annum),” the government said, adding that the project has been planned as per the National Master Plan PM-Gati Shakti with a focus on enhancing multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations.
It also said that increasing the line’s capacity will greatly enhance mobility, leading to improved operational efficiency and service reliability of the railway. The proposed project is an essential route for transporting commodities such as iron ore, dolomite, limestone, iron, steel, coal, fertilizers and food grains.
“This multi-lane proposal is aimed at streamlining operations and decongestion. The project is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of New India which will make the people of the region ‘Atmanirbhar’ through comprehensive development of the region which will enhance their employment/self-employment opportunities,” it said in its statement.
