Khurdha Bolangir Railway Line
| Khordha Balangir Railway Line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Status | Under Construction |
| Locale | Odisha |
| Termini |
Khurda Road Balangir |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Indian Railway |
| Operator(s) | East Coast Railway zone |
| Technical | |
| Track length | 289 km (180 mi) |
| Number of tracks | 1 |
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) |
The Khordha Balangir rail link was surveyed in 1945 but the project was sanctioned in 1994–95. The state government has signed Memorandum of Understanding with Indian railways to undertake some parts of the project on cost sharing basis. The project which was initially estimated to be ₹1,000 crore (US$160 million) is now estimated to be nearly ₹2,000 crore (US$310 million) after almost 20 years of delay due to low budgetary provisions and issues of land acquisition.
This rail line will link cities of Nayagarh, Boudh and Sonepur with Bhubaneswar and Balangir. Smaller towns like Dasapalla, Banigochha and Mahipur will also be linked by this rail line. Work at Balangir side of this project has also started.
The Khordha-Balangir Railway Line will connect Khurda Road railway station to Balangir railway station in a shorter way through Daspalla.
A new 289 km long railway line from Balangir to Khurda Road junction was sanctioned in 1994 and its foundation stone was laid in June 2001 but there has been very little progress in construction of this railway line. Out of 289 km length, 22 km is in Balangir district. Even all the land required for the railway line has not been acquired until the end of 2011.
In 2015-16 Rail Budget, the rail line got a green single from Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu as Rs 4682 crore was allotted for Odisha As construction will be done in three phases, first between Khurda Road to Begunia a 36 km stretch then 76 km from Begunia to Daspalla and 177 km from Daspalla to Balangir under the review of Chef Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik.
In July 2016, Railway minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Khordha Road-Begunia 36 km stretch and tracks are being laid from Begunia to Nayagarh which is likely to be completed by March 2017 and whole project to be completed in 2021. This will connects Nayagarh, Boudh, Sonepur and Balangir which are economically backward district in the state.
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Wikipedia