Cabinet on Tuesday approved two railway multitracking projects worth Rs 4,474 crore in West Bengal and Jharkhand, aimed at easing congestion and strengthening freight and passenger movement across key routes in eastern India.The projects, Sainthia–Pakur 4th line and Santragachi–Kharagpur 4th line, were cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Together, they will expand the Indian Railways network by about 192 km and are scheduled for completion by 2030-31, according to an official statement.The projects will cover five districts across the two states and are expected to improve rail connectivity for around 5,652 villages with a population of about 1.47 crore.Officials said the additional lines will significantly enhance line capacity, improving operational efficiency and service reliability while reducing congestion on these busy routes.Planned under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, the projects aim to strengthen multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency by integrating infrastructure planning across sectors.The expanded capacity will also support movement of key commodities such as coal, stone, dolomite, cement, slag, gypsum, iron and steel, foodgrains, petroleum products and containers, with the upgrades expected to handle additional freight traffic of about 31 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).The improved rail connectivity will also benefit tourism to destinations such as Bolpur-Shantiniketan, Nandikeshwari Temple, Tarapith, Patachitra Gram, Dhadika Forest, Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary and Rameshwar Kund.According to the government, the projects are expected to reduce logistics costs, cut oil imports by around 6 crore litres, and lower carbon dioxide emissions by about 28 crore kg, equivalent to planting around one crore trees.
