Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways has approved two projects with an investment of Rs 409 crore, which include the construction of a rail flyover in the Rourkela-Bondamunda section, according to an official statement issued on July 3.
In a significant boost to freight capacity and operational efficiency, the construction of a 4.59 km rail flyover from Bondamunda ‘A’ Cabin to Bondamunda Link ‘B’ Cabin in the South Eastern Railway will be taken up at a cost of Rs 135 crore.
The project is aimed at decongesting the important Rourkela-Bondamunda section, an industrial corridor witnessing rapidly increasing freight traffic due to expanding mining and steel production activities.
The Rourkela-Bondamunda section is expected to experience substantial growth in freight movement owing to the expansion of SAIL’s Barsua-Taldih-Kalta mining complex, enhanced production at Rourkela Steel Plant, and the planned doubling of this High-Density Network (HDN) route.
To accommodate the anticipated increase in rail traffic, the railways have sanctioned the construction of the new rail flyover, which will facilitate seamless train movement while minimising crossing conflicts between passenger and freight services, the statement said.
Upon commissioning, the project is expected to facilitate handling of an additional 8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of freight traffic, strengthening evacuation of minerals and industrial products while supporting future growth in freight transportation.
The second project related to the replacement of relay-based interlocking with advanced electronic interlocking (EI) at 20 locations in the Malda Division of the Eastern Railway will involve an investment of Rs 274 crore.
