Lok Sabha Question No. 4595 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-30
Subject: Coal Evacuation Railway Projects
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Ravindra Kushawaha, Ravi Kishan Shukla, Subrata Pathak, Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Sudheer Gupta, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Prataprao  Jadhav, Shrirang Appa Barne, Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4595 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.03.2022

## COAL EVACUATION RAILWAY PROJECTS

4595.  SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

SHRI RAVINDRA KUSHWAHA:

SHRI RAVI KISHAN:

SHRI SUBRAT PATHAK:

SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to strengthen Indian Railways infrastructure by commissioning 14 critical coal evacuation railway projects for quick transportation to reduce transportation cost of domestic coal;
- (b) if so, the names of the projects selected for the said purpose;
- (c) the present progress and status of these projects;
- (d) whether the Railways is also considering to develop/construct a dedicated freight corridor to supply coal to power generation plants across the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  whether  the  Railways  has  identified  such  corridors  and  has  studied  its feasibility and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f)  the  extent  to  which  such  corridors  are  likely  to  help  in  reducing  the transportation cost and pressure on national transporter?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (f) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4595 BY  SHRI  MANOJ  TIWARI,  SHRI  RAVINDRA  KUSHWAHA, SHRI  RAVI  KISHAN,  SHRI  SUBRAT  PATHAK,  SHRI  SANJAY  SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK,  SHRI  SUDHEER  GUPTA,  SHRI  BIDYUT  BARAN  MAHATO,  SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV, SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE AND SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 30.03.2022 REGARDING COAL EVACUATION RAILWAY PROJECTS

(a) to (c) Yes, Sir. Details of these projects are as under:

|   S.No | Project Name                                                                                  | Length (km)   | Present Status   |
|--------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|------------------|
|      1 | Third Line from Tori to Shivpur                                                               | 44.37         | Under execution  |
|      2 | Doubling of Jharsuguda-Barpali-Sardega Rail Link at Ib Valley Coalfield of MCL                | 50.3          | Under execution  |
|      3 | Rail connectivity of Lingaraj SILO with existing Deulbera Siding at Talcher Coalfield of MCL  | 4.8           | Completed        |
|      4 | Railway line from Bhadrachalam to Sattupalli                                                  | 54.1          | Under execution  |
|      5 | Railway line from Shivpur to Kathotia                                                         | 49.09         | Under execution  |
|      6 | Doubling of East Corridor (Phase-I) Kharasia - Korichapar- Dharamjaigarh                      | 148           | Under execution  |
|      7 | Doubling of East-West Rail Corridor (Gevra Road-Pendra Road)                                  | 135           | Under execution  |
|      8 | Angul-Balram Rail Link as part of Inner Corridor through Mahanadi Coal Railway Limited (MCRL) | 14.22         | Under execution  |
|      9 | Doubling of Rail line from Shaktinagar to Karaila Road                                        | 45            | Under execution  |
|     10 | Doubling of Singrauli to Mahadiya and Mahadiya to Katni Section                               | 260           | Under execution  |
|     11 | Third line from Patratu - Tori - Son Nagar in Barkakana-Barwadih-Garhwa Road section          | 291           | Under execution  |
|     12 | Fourth line from Jharsuguda to Bilaspur                                                       | 206           | Under execution  |
|     13 | Doubling of DFC-Dadri to Son Nagar & extension upto Koderma                                   | 1100 (appx.)  | Under execution  |
|     14 | Third and fourth lines from Talcher to Budhapank and Third line from Budhapank to Rajathgarh  | 72            | Under execution  |

(d)  to  (f)  Presently,  Ministry  of  Railways  has  taken  up  construction  of  two Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) viz. Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Son Nagar  (1337  Km)  and  the  Western  Corridor  from  Jawaharlal  Nehru  Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri (1506 Km). Currently, 1110 km out of 2843 km of DFC has  been  completed.  The  Eastern  DFC  will  mainly  cater  to  Coal,  Minerals, Cement, Finished steel and other bulk commodities. Eastern DFC will facilitate faster evacuation of coal from the eastern part of the country for the Thermal Powerhouses  located  in  northern  hinterland.  Ministry  of  Railways  has  also sanctioned for the survey and preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for new Dedicated Freight Corridors on the following routes and the outcome of DPRs would be the primary basis for considering for these new DFC corridors:

- (i) East-Coast Corridor (Kharagpur to Vijayawada: 1115 Km)
- East-West  corridor:  (Palghar  -  Bhusawal  -  Nagpur  -  Kharagpur-Dankuni:
- (ii) 2163 Km and Rajkharsawan - Kalipahari - Andal: 195 Km)
- (iii) North-South Sub-corridor (Vijayawada - Nagpur - Itarsi: 975 Km)

Construction  of  DFCs  is  a  long-term  strategic  plan  of  Railways  aimed  at augmentation of rail transport capacity at a massive scale. Commissioning of DFC  projects,  will  also  pave  way  for  segregation  of  freight  and  passenger services  and  resulting  in  decongestion  of  some  of  important  trunk  routes  of Indian Railways.

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