New Delhi: In a major boost to railway infrastructure, the Union Cabinet today approved 7 projects of the Ministry of Railways with an estimated cost of around Rs. 32,500 Crore. Among these 7 projects, one is the Quadrupling of the Samakhiali to Gandhidham route in Kutch district of Gujarat.

A quadruple-track railway (also known as a four-track railway) is a railway line consisting of four parallel tracks with two tracks used in each direction. Quadruple-track railways can handle large amounts of traffic, and so are used on very busy routes or sections. Such conversion is referred to as “quadruplication”. Today’s announcement of Samkhiali – Gandhidham quadrupling means there shall be four parallel tracks on this route that connects Samkhiali to Gandhidham in coastal Kutch. The project once completed will immensely boost the movement of freight via rail connecting the ports of coastal Kutch to hinterland in North India.

The seven projects announced by union cabinet today will add 2,339 kms to the existing network of the Indian Railways and will be 100% funded by the Central Government. These projects are the result of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Multi-modal connectivity. These projects will cover 35 districts in nine states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Orissa, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Union Cabinet approves 7 projects of Ministry of Railways with estimated cost of around Rs.32,500 Crore; projects to add 2339 kms to the existing network of Indian Railways pic.twitter.com/QJJSbFFvPw

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These projects will add a freight traffic capacity of 200 million tonnes per annum. Additionally, they will provide employment opportunities equivalent to 7.06 crore person days for the people of the states.

Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnav announced this development in today’s cabinet briefing. DeshGujarat