New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved 425 Km long Jhansi-Manikpur and Bhimsen-Khairar lines doubling and electrification projects at a completion cost of Rs. 4955.72 crore. These are likely to be completed by 2022-23. The projects will cover the districts of Jhansi, Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakut Dham in Uttar Pradesh and Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh.
The present line capacity utilization of Jhansi-Khairar, Khairar-Manikpur and Khairar-Bhimsen is 126%, 160% and 107% respectively, which leads to congestion and slow movement of trains.
The doubling will provide for easy movement of trains going/coming from Jhansi/Kanpur and coming/going to Allahabad without any stoppage for crossing of trains of opposite direction. It will improve punctuality of passenger trains and smooth running on the routes of Jhansi-Satna and Kanpur-Satna. It will also help in better safety through improved availability for maintenance blocks. It will also result in overall development of Bundelkhand region.
It may be noted that DFC (Dedicated Freight Corridor) connectivity will be near Bhimsen. Thus, this route will also act as a feeder route of DFC and help in economic and industrial development through swift movement of goods especially agricultural produce to consumer areas, and to ports for export. The cement cluster in Satna and infrastructure sector will be another major beneficiary from this development through smoother movement of cement.
It will also improve connectivity to Khajuraho which is an international tourist destination. This will also lead to economic prosperity and employment opportunities through tourism in the region.
Electrification will lead to faster trains, reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable environment. Further, It will reduce fuel import dependence, and result in energy costs savings for Railways and forex savings for the country. In addition, these projects will generate direct employment during construction of about 102 lakh mandays.
