Indian Railways To Deliver Projects Worth Rs 1,15,000 Crore: All You Need To Know

Indian Railways authorities will implement a slew of projects in the coming years, in what it calls 'critical' and 'super critical' ones, worth more than Rs 1,15,000 crore to facilitate the country's mobility and create additional capacity for running more passenger and freight trains on its network. The railway authorities identified a total of 58 super critical projects, covering a total length of 3,750 km, worth Rs 39,663 crore, and 68 critical projects, covering a total length 6,913 km worth Rs 75,736 crore.

Out of the 58 super critical projects, 27 projects will be completed by the end of this year, while the remaining two will be done by March next year. In the past year, 29 super critical railway projects, covering a total length of 1,044 km worth Rs 11,588 crore were commissioned, even amid challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, said the railway ministry in a statement released on Tuesday, June 29.
 

What are 'critical' and 'super critical' projects of Indian Railways?

Based upon the traffic density, the type of commodity moved, and the importance of route from the strategic standpoint, the railway authorities have categorized projects as 'critical' and 'super critical'. 

A total of 58 projects - requiring an urgent expansion including the ones which are already progressing well -with an expenditure of more than 60 per cent, have been categorized as 'super critical' projects. Whereas, a total of 68 projects - requiring completion in the next stage have been defined as critical projects.

The super critical projects are those of multi-tracking, which means the doubling third line or fourth line on the busy routes. After completing these projects, the national transporter will be able to operate more traffic at a faster speed on these dense and busy routes.

On the other hand, out of the 68 critical projects identified, four projects covering a distance of 108 km, worth Rs 1,408 crore are completed so far. The remaining ones are targeted to be completed by March 2024.

Meanwhile, Indian Railways implemented some major capacity-building projects in states such as Uttarakhand, Assam, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.