The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved four key multi-tracking railway projects worth Rs 11,169 crore, aimed at enhancing connectivity across six states.

The projects will expand the Indian Railways network by approx. 574 km, directly benefiting around 2,309 villages with a combined population of 43.6 lakh. The approved projects are: Itarsi–Nagpur fourth line (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra), Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar)–Parbhani Doubling (Maharashtra), Aluabari Road–New Jalpaiguri third and fourth line (West Bengal), and Dangoaposi–Jaroli third and fouth line (Odisha, Jharkhand).

Focused on high-density and mineral transportation routes, these projects aim to streamline the movement of coal, cement, clinker, fly ash, containers, agricultural produce, and petroleum products. The capacity augmentation is expected to generate an additional freight traffic of 95.91 million tonne annually.

Additionally, the projects will have significant environmental benefits, potentially reducing oil imports by 16 crore litres and CO2 emissions by 515 crore kg, equivalent to planting 20 crore trees, thus contributing to India’s climate goals.