Cabinet Approves Railway Projects Worth Rs 20,804 Crore

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved eight railway multi-tracking projects on 9 September 2026 with an estimated cost of Rs 20,804 crore. The projects will expand the Indian Railways network by about 1,196 km and are targeted for completion by the financial year 2029-30.

Railway Multi-Tracking Projects

Multi-tracking in Indian Railways refers to the addition of extra railway lines on existing corridors. The approved package includes third and fourth line works, as well as doubling projects, across nine states: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Project Distribution Across Regions

Five projects in southern India have an estimated cost of Rs 10,021 crore and cover 540 km. These include the Arakkonam–Renigunta third and fourth lines and the doubling of the Hosur–Omalur section. The remaining three projects in eastern and central India have an estimated cost of Rs 10,783 crore and cover 656 km.

The eastern and central India projects include the Kharagpur–Jharsuguda fourth line and the Katni–Pendra Road fourth line. These corridors connect major freight and passenger routes in the railway network.

Freight Capacity and Connectivity

The projects are projected to add 74 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of combined freight capacity. The freight mix includes coal, cement, iron, steel and food grains. The projects will improve connectivity across 31 districts and benefit about 6,911 villages.

The works are being implemented under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which is a national infrastructure planning framework launched for integrated multimodal connectivity. Railway capacity expansion is a core component of network decongestion and corridor augmentation in India.

Important Facts for Exams

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is chaired by the Prime Minister of India.
• Indian Railways uses terms such as third line, fourth line and doubling for capacity expansion on busy routes.
• PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is linked with infrastructure coordination across transport sectors.
• Freight corridors in India commonly carry coal, cement, iron, steel and food grains.

Railway Network Expansion

Indian Railways is one of the world’s largest rail networks under single management. Network expansion projects are used to increase line capacity, reduce congestion and support freight movement on high-density routes.