Nagpur: The conversion of the 106-kilometre narrow-gauge railway line between Nagpur and Nagbhid into broad gauge is progressing rapidly. The 51-kilometre stretch from Itwari to Umred will be inaugurated before Diwali, transport minister Pratap Sarnaik announced. He was speaking during a review meeting at the Mantralaya regarding the progress of Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MahaRail) projects. Sarnaik said MahaRail has been instructed to expedite the conversion of the 106-kilometre Itwari-Nagbhid narrow-gauge railway line into broad gauge. Specifically, the inauguration of the Itwari–Umred stretch has been scheduled before Diwali. “Once completed, the renewed rail line will connect 12 to 14 small and medium villages along the route to a major city like Nagpur,” he said.The meeting was attended by MahaRail vice-chairman Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal, deputy secretary of the transport department, Kiran Holkar, and other officials concerned.# ‘Expedite construction of bridges for level-crossing free state’MahaRail was established in 2016 as a joint venture between the govt of Maharashtra and the Ministry of Railways to execute railway projects with state govt participation. MahaRail is responsible for completing such projects. It also shoulders the major responsibility of implementing the vision of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the ‘Level Crossing-Free Maharashtra’ project which aims to replace all railway level crossings in the state with railway overbridges. Minister Sarnaik has also instructed MahaRail to expedite the construction of these overbridges.
