India, Sept. 9 -- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved three railway multitracking projects worth Rs 10,783 crore, spanning 14 districts across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
The projects, covering around 656 km, include the Kharagpur-Jharsuguda fourth line, Katni-Pendra Road fourth line and Bilaspur (Uslapur)-Pendra Road third line.
The expansion is expected to ease congestion, improve rail capacity and connectivity to around 4,790 villages with a population of nearly 56 lakh. The projects are also projected to facilitate an additional 27 MTPA of freight traffic, mainly carrying coal, cement, iron and steel.
The capacity enhancement is expected to reduce logistics costs, cut oil import...