South Eastern Railway (SER) connects Eastern Part of the Country with the Western Part and trains originating from SER jurisdiction are running towards Maharashtra, Gujarat and other States of Western India.
- This Howrah-Mumbai Trunk Route is one of the busiest routes and augmentation of line capacity has become extremely necessary.
- In this route, SER jurisdiction is from Howrah to Jharsuguda which is of 515km out of which approx 340km third line has already been constructed.
- To have a seamless train movement it is essential to have continuity in third line connectivity in this stretch to overcome the present saturated situation.
- Keeping this in view, Third Line Projects have been taken up between Kharagpur-Adityapur and Rourkela-Jharsuguda, so that the entire route from Howrah to Jharsuguda will have the same facility.
- Considering the above, provision has been made in the Budget 2021-22.
Kharagpur-Adityapur Third Line Project:
- The 132km Kharagpur-Adityapur Third Line Project was sanctioned in the year 2015-16 and the estimated cost is Rs.1,312 crores.
- This project covers 55km in the State of West Bengal and 77km in the State of Jharkhand.
- The Third Line work of Kalaikunda-Jhargram Section (30km) has already been completed.
- In the Budget 2021-22 an amount of Rs.225 crores has been allotted for this project.
Rourkela-Jharsuguda Third Line Project:
- The 101km long Rourkela-Jharsuguda Third Line Project was sanctioned in the year 2015-16 and the estimated cost is Rs.1,312.96 crores.
- The entire Third Line Project passes through the State of Odisha.
- Dhutra-Bamra Section (27.9km) has been commissioned in August 2020.
- Jharsuguda-Dhutra Section (8.8km) has been commissioned in December, 2020.
- In the Budget 2021-22 an amount of Rs.230 crores has been allotted for this project.
Source: South Eastern Railway-Press Release | Image Credit: South Eastern Railway
