State clears Rs280 crore of its share for Itwari-Nagbhid rly project

Nagpur: The state cabinet on Thursday cleared its share of Rs280 crore for gauge conversion of the 116.15km Itwari-Nagbhid rail line project to be implemented by Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (Maharail).
MahaRail is a joint venture of the government of Maharashtra and the ministry of railways on a 50:50 basis with an objective to provide a boost to the rail infrastructure projects in the state by providing critical connectivity and capacity enhancement.
MRIDC has started work on the narrow gauge conversion between Itwari-Nagbhid after the line was closed for traffic on November 25, last year. The corporation has also planned to provide a chord line to WCL coalfields in Umrer.
The Railway Board sanctioned the Nagpur-(Itwari)–Nagbhid gauge conversion project with an estimated cost of Rs1,400 crores on October 30, 2019.
Sixty per cent (Rs840 crore) will be raised through loan and Rs560 crore will be shared equally by the railways and state government. Besides, 50% (Rs420 crore) of the loan amount will be shared by the state and the Centre.
Out of the 628km narrow gauge network under Nagpur division of South East Central Railway (SECR), Itwari- Nagbhid is the last remaining line pending for conversion.
After the cabinet decision, Maharail aims to expedite the construction work and complete the project in less than 21 months. However, 7 months have already passed after closure of the line.
“The line will help overcome Nagpur–Wardha and Nagpur-Gondia routes that are saturated and over-utilized. A chord line to WCL coalfields near Umrer will allow economical and safer coal movement to various thermal plants in this region,” said Maharail officials.
“The main aim of this project is to expedite coal movement from mines and reduce congestion on the existing route. Itwari-Nagbhid will be directly linked with the existing railway network via Umrer to Wardha and Gondia,” they said.
“Latest technology will be implemented for track installation to expedite the work. New stations buildings in this project are also planned to be designed as per latest specifications,” said Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal, managing director of Maharail.
On the significance of the project, Jaiswal said, “The broad gauge line will be operational for goods as well as passenger trains with lot of financial benefit. It will reduce the coal rake movement and facilitate decongestion at Nagpur, Kalamna, Itwari, Ajni and Wardha yards and facilitate operation of shuttle trains in and around Nagpur.”
The movement of the coal rake from captive mines of Mahagenco at Chandrapur to Koradi and Khaperkheda will also be facilitated by reduction in travel time. The proposed project will be of immense benefit to Mahagenco in procurement of coal from WCL mines in Umred and Chandrapur district and also help Adani’s power plant at Tiroda and NTPC at Mauda.