New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) In a bid to remove bottlenecks on the Delhi-Howrah route between Allahabad and Mughalsarai, the government on Wednesday gave its nod to construct a third line at a cost of Rs 2,649 crore.
Addressing a press conference about the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Economy Affairs (CCEA), Railway and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said, “The CCEA has approved the construction of a third line between Allahabad and Deen Dayal Upadhyay station at an estimated cost of Rs 2,649.44 crore.”
The minister pointed out that the line capacity between Allahabad and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay is 159 per cent.
The CCEA meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Goyal said the 150 km long third line between the two important stations will be completed by 2023-24 and it will be executed by Construction organisation of North Central Railway.
The Minister said the third line will cope up with the future traffic and remove capacity constraints.
According to railway officials, the number of passenger and goods trains in this section is far more than its capacity, resulting in heavy congestion of trains.
The railway official said that the project will enhance capacity, reduce congestion and cater to future growth of traffic. Construction of the approved third line between Allahabad and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction (Mughalsarai) will also ease traffic congestion at Chheoki, Naini and improve the punctuality of goods and passenger trains on vital route connecting National capital.
The project will also generate direct employment during construction for about 36 lakh mandays.
–IANS
aks/prs