Freight operations on Odisha’s Budhapank-Baghuapala railway line to begin soon – See images here

The operation of freight trains on the much-awaited Budhapank-Baghuapala railway line will begin soon. The move comes after East Coast Railway’s General Manager (GM) Manoj Sharma sanctioned the opening of the newly built BG electrified single line for the running of goods train.

Earlier, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) inspected the station yards of Budhapank and Baghuapal and advised for its modification. The zonal railways have completed all the necessary changes following all safety angles to run goods train on the route.

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Location:-

The 92.825 Kms long Broad Gauge single electrified railway line lies between Budhapankh Station in Angul District and Baghuapala Station near Sukinda in Jajpur District under the Khurda Road Railway Division of East Coast Railway (ECoR).

Significance:-

The movement of goods trains on the newly built railway line will boost freight transportation and industrial activities in the region. This new railway line provides direct connectivity between iron-ore-rich areas of Odisha (Joda-Barbil) to steel and sponge iron industries in the Angul region. It also provides a shorter and congestion-free alternative route between the coal mining belt of Talcher and to coal-based thermal power plant in the Kalinganagar Industrial areas.

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This will also be in close proximity to the Steel Plants in the Angul region, NALCO, and a cluster of Industries located in the Kalinganagar areas of Odisha. Dispatch of finished products of steel plants from the Kalinganagar complex to destinations in Mumbai and Delhi via Talcher-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda will also be shorter and cheaper via the new alignment as compared with the route via Kharagpur.

Funding of project:-

The construction of the newly built BG electrified single-line project has received funding through Public Private Partnership (PPP) model as envisaged in the Concession Agreement signed between the Ministry of Railways and ASRL on May 14, 2010. The funding pattern for this project was through equity participation from Stake-Holders and debt raised from the market.