The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the doubling of the Tirupati–Pakala–Katpadi single railway line section (104 km) in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of approximately Rs 1,332 crore.
Photo: IANS
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the doubling of the Tirupati–Pakala–Katpadi single railway line section (104 km) in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of approximately Rs 1,332 crore.
The initiative will improve travel convenience, reduce logistic cost, decrease oil imports, and contribute to lower CO2 emissions, supporting sustainable and efficient rail operations.
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The enhanced line capacity will improve mobility by increasing efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. The multi-tracking proposal will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-needed infrastructure development on the busiest sections of the railway network.
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The project is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision for a New India and aims to make the people of the region “Atmanirbhar” through comprehensive development of the area, thereby enhancing their employment and self-employment opportunities.
The project is a result of the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity, made possible through integrated planning. It aims to provide seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods, and services.
The project, covering three districts in the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, will expand the existing Indian Railways network by about 113 km.
Besides providing connectivity to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, the project section also offers rail access to other prominent destinations such as the Sri Kalahasti Shiva Temple, Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple, and Chandragiri Fort, attracting pilgrims and tourists from across the country.
The multi-tracking project will extend connectivity to approximately 400 villages, benefiting around 14 lakh people.
This is an essential route for the transportation of commodities such as coal, agricultural commodities, cement, minerals, etc. The capacity augmentation work will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 4 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum).
Being an environment-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, the Railways will help achieve climate goals and minimise the country’s logistics cost, reduce oil imports by 4 crore litres, and lower CO2 emissions by 20 crore kg — equivalent to planting one crore trees.
The project aims to enhance connectivity to Tirupati, home to the revered Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. The temple attracts around 75,000 pilgrims daily, with footfall rising to 1.5 lakh on auspicious occasions.
Additionally, the project is expected to generate direct employment equivalent to about 35 lakh human-days during the construction phase.
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