Indian Railways is working on improving the rail infrastructure of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. Work is going on at a fast pace on the Bhatni-Aunrihar Doubling Project. The total length of the project is 117 km and the estimated cost is Rs 1378.50 crores, informed the Ministry of Railways, on Thursday.
Four out of 12 major bridges are constructed. If we talk about minor bridges, the total number is 108 and out of this 65 are ready. The project will cover the districts of Ballia, Deoria, Mau, and Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Bhatni-Aurnihar line doubling project in February-2018. Earlier, it was likely to be completed by 2021-22.
About Aurnihar junction
Aurnihar is the junction station of the Varanasi division. It has connectivity towards four sides namely Aurnihar-Bhatni, Aurnihar-Chhapra, Aurnihar-Jaunpur, and Aurnihar-Varanasi.
The present line capacity utilization of the section is 118 per cent and this has led to not only congestion but slower train movement. The project, when complete, will decongest the Gorakhpur-Varanasi route and ease travel to the holy city of Varanasi. The doubling project will ensure reduced train delays, higher speed, and enhanced safety by allowing more time for track/block maintenance. It will also provide additional capacity for future increases in traffic.
Also, at Mughalsarai, the Allahabad-Mughalsarai route of the North Central Railway is over-saturated and there is heavy congestion. Doubling this route will allow the shifting of traffic from the Mughalsarai-Allahabad route to this route and hence decongesting it. This will benefit passengers traveling to Eastern India especially North East, Bihar, and West Bengal.
Additionally, electrification of the project will lead to faster trains, reduce carbon emissions and promote a sustainable environment. This in turn will reduce fuel import dependence of the country, and result in energy cost savings for Indian Railways and forex savings for India.