CCEA approves 121 km Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor project

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Tuesday approved the 121.7 km Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project from Palwal to Sonipat via Sohna-Manesar-Kharkhauda, to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 5,607 crore.
The approval for the project was given at the CCEA meeting chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi.
According to railway ministry officials, this rail line will start from Palwal and end at existing Harsana Kalan station (on Delhi-Ambala section).
Officials said that this railway line will also give connectivity en route to existing Patli station (on Delhi-Rewari line), Sultanpur station (On Garhi Harsaru-Farukhnagar Line) and Asaudha station (On Delhi-Rohtak Line).
The railway ministry in a statement said that the project will be implemented by Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HRIDC), a joint venture company set up by Ministry of Railways with government of Haryana.
The project will have joint participation of Ministry of Railways, Haryana government and private stakeholders.
The railway ministry said the estimated completion cost of the project is Rs 5,617 crore and it is likely to be completed in five years.
Citing the benefits of the project, the railway ministry said that the districts of Palwal, Nuh, Gurugram, Jhajjar and Sonipat in Haryana will be benefitted through this rail line.
"This line will facilitate diversion of traffic not meant for Delhi thus decongesting NCR and will help in developing multimodal logistics hubs in Haryana state sub-region of NCR and will provide high-speed seamless connectivity of this region to Dedicated Freight Corridor network resulting in reduction of cost and time of transportation for EXIM traffic from NCR to ports of India, making exports of goods more competitive," the ministry said.
It further said that the new corridor along with other initiatives will provide enabling infrastructure to attract multinational industries to set up manufacturing units under the 'Make in India' mission.
The project will connect unserved areas of the state of Haryana, thereby boosting economic and social activities in Haryana. This multipurpose transport project will also facilitate affordable and faster commuter travel, long distance travel in different directions from Gurugram and the industrial regions of Manesar, Sohna, Farrukhnagar, Kharkhauda and Sonipat.
The railways said that approximately 20,000 passengers each day will be travelling through this line and 50 million tonnes of goods traffic would also be carried every year.