The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi has approved construction of six railway lines and a railway bridge to cater to both increased passenger and freight needs in various areas of the country. The proposals will cost over Rs.10,700 crore and most part of the expenditure will be met through extra budgetary resources (institutional financing). Details of the six approved projects are as follows:

• Doubling of 190 km long Hubli-Chickajur broad gauge single railway line has been approved. The total estimated expenditure will be Rs.1294.13 crore. The project will cover the areas of Chitradurga, Davangere, Haveri andDharwad.

• Construction of Wardha (Sewagram) – Ballarshah 3rd railway line of 132 km will be taken up at an estimated completion cost of Rs.1443.32 crore. The project will be located in Wardha and Chandrapur districts.

• Doubling of 160 km long Ramna – Singarauli railway line has been approved at a cost Rs.2675.64 crore and is likely to be completed by 2019-20. The project will cover the districts of Garhwa in Jharkhand, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh.

• Construction of 165 km long 3rd railway line between Anuppur-Katni in Madhya Pradesh has also been apporved at a cost of Rs.1595.76 crore. The project would cover the districts of Anuppur, Shahdol, Umaria and Katni districts of Madhya Pradesh.

• Construction of doubling of 261 km long Katni – Singarauli railway at a cost of Rs.2084.90crore has been approved. The project would cover the districts of Katni, Shahdol, Sidhi and Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh.

• Construction of additional Bridge and doubling project of Rampur Dumra-Tal-Rajendrapulsector in Bihar at a cost of Rs.1700.24 crore has been approved. The project is located in Begusarai and Patna districts of Bihar.